Bloodlines and Demons
by chairomori
Summary: The chuunin exams have commenced in Kumogakure, and Naruto finds himself unwillingly tangled in a conspiracy. What's frustrating is, he can't do a thing to stop it.
1. Announcements

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto whatsoever, except for my fictions.

"Speaking"

'_Thinking_'

**Demon talking**

* * *

_Bloodlines and Demons_

by chairomori

Chapter One: Announcements

* * *

Neji and Hinata silently walked back to the Hyuuga complex.

_The Godaime stood in_ _front of a crowd of genin and called for their attention. "Quiet! You all must be confused at why I called you here. As most of you know, the chuunin exams occur semi-annually._ _The time has now come for the next chuunin exams."_

_Neji could hear Naruto jumping with glee. He rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the Godaime, ignoring the murmurings of the other genin._

"_I'm not finished!" Tsunade waited for the genin to settle down. "The rules of the next exam will call for four-man cells, which means that those of you selected will be rearranged into temporary teams until the end of the exam. Now, because of the fact that the exams will not be held in Konoha, the number of genin who will be allowed to take the test is limited. Therefore, those of you who feel not up to taking the exams may drop out._ _The remaining genin will be chosen by drawing lots." She paused. "I will give you the rest of the day to decide. Those of you that want to take the exam will show up here tomorrow morning. Any questions?"_

_A hand went up. "Godaime-sama? Where exactly will the chuunin exams take place?" A female voice spoke._

"_It is to be held in the Hidden Cloud Village." The Hokage sighed and left._

_Several gasps filled the room, followed by angry words-mostly from the Hyuuga present. Neji himself had been caught off guard by the remark. Across the room, he saw Hinata's eyes, widened in fear._

'_The next exams will be held in Lightning Country. Will Hiashi-sama allow us to go? It doesn't matter. I'll go no matter what. But Hinata-sama...he may not let her go._' Neji stopped his thoughts as they arrived.

A servant walked out and greeted them. "Hiashi-sama requests your presence."

Neji ignored him and kept walking until he reached his uncle's room. He could hear Hinata's soft steps patter behind him. His hand reached out to knock softly on the door. "Come in." Hiashi's voice called. He entered, followed by Hinata. Besides Hiashi, there were three other Hyuuga in the room. "You called, Hiashi-sama?"

"Yes. We were just waiting for you to arrive. Now that everyone is here, I will explain why I summoned you here." Hiashi proceeded. "The Hokage-sama has just informed you of the circumstances involving the nest chuunin exam. Now, I would rather have no Hyuuga participate, but I have decided to allow you to choose for yourselves. Whether or not you go is your choice, however, I, nor any other Hyuuga will be accompanying you. That is all. Hinata, I need to talk to you in private."

Neji and the other Hyuuga left the room. He was leaving to his quarters when one of the others called to him. He turned around. "What?"

The Hyuuga smirked. "You know, you should stay behind. We don't need a _branch_ member to soil the Hyuuga's reputation, right?" He asked the other Main House members. They nodded in consent. "See? You should leave the real battles to us. You know you'll never make it pass the genin level anyway."

Inside, Neji was infuriated at the elder Hyuuga's words, but instead of assaulting him, he replied coolly. "I wouldn't talk if I were you. None of you even made it past the second test in the last chuunin exam."

"Why you arrogant-"

"If you really want to see arrogance, try looking in a mirror." Neji ignored the Hyuuga's reply and continued walking towards his quarters. '_I wasn't expecting Hiashi-sama to give his consent so easily. I wonder what he wants with Hinata-sama. Now that I know I can enter, I wonder who I will be teamed with. Whoever they are, we must make it to the finals. Then, I can take revenge for my father's death._' As he walked on, something deep down told him trouble was coming.

* * *

A flaming kunai hit dead center as it flew into a target. "Finally, it's time to make our mark." A hard voice arose. It belonged to a female with blood red hair hanging loosely to her waist. She wore deep crimson shorts under a white dress, falling just a few inches beneath her knees. At each side was a wide slit. Secured tightly around her waist was her forehead protector. Bandages were wrapped along her forearms. Her long bangs almost masked her off violet eyes. 

"Relax, sis. You need to chill. Have you ever considered taking a deep breath and just enjoying the simpler things in life? Like how this grass is nice and soft. Perfect for a pillow..." The voice belonged to a male who snuggled into the grass. His hair was slightly shorter than his sister's and tied into a low ponytail. The outfit he was wearing was similar to his sister's, but instead of the dress, he had on a white shirt. The back bore the symbol of a small ball of purple fire. Around his left arm was his forehead protector. His face almost identical to his sister's.

"Can't you ever be serious? Our clan is too secluded. After generations of secrecy, they have finally allowed us to participate in the chuunin exams. But now Konoha has forgotten our strength. We must use this exam to show all the countries our clan's power. I believe that is the key."

"Of course. But there's no need to overexcite yourself. You can take out your anger on your opponent."

"Hmph. Fine, let's go home." As they left, the target fell into pieces and was engulfed by the flames.

* * *

Neji awoke and prepared to return to the Hokage Tower for the drawing. He stood at the entrance of the Hyuuga complex and waited for Hinata to arrive. A full ten minutes passed, and he was becoming impatient, but he decided to wait a while longer. Another ten minutes went by. Angrily, he walked-sprinted to Hinata's room and knocked sharply. 

Hinata padded softly towards the door and opened it. "Neji-niisan? W-why are you here?" She slightly stumbled on the words that came out of her mouth.

"We're supposed to go to the drawing today. Remember?" He was annoyed that she'd forget so easily.

At the words, Hinata looked down. "I-I can't go. Father has forbidden it."

"What? But didn't he say we were free to choose? Why can't you go?" Neji felt foolish asking the question when he was sure he knew the answer.

"He s-said that the Cloud nin m-might try to kidnap me again. Because we will be in their land, w-we won't be able to do anything." Hinata stared sadly at the ground.

'_That's absurd! They won't be able to do anything because of the Chuunin exams. Hiashi must think lowly of her skills to prevent her from going_.' Instead of voicing his thoughts, he turned and muttered, "I'm sorry."

Hinata was surprised. She had expected Neji to become angry and take out his rage on her of the nearest object or person he could find. '_He's changed so much after fighting with Naruto_.' Before he was out of hearing range, she mustered up the courage to call out, "G-good luck!" He walked on as if he didn't hear anything.

As soon as he left the Hyuuga complex, Neji began to sprint ninja style towards the tower to make up for lost time. '_What if I am not drawn? What will happen? No. I must not think of that. I will get drawn. I must_.' When he arrived in the Hokage tower, he found it full of genin chattering excitedly. He scanned the room until he found Tenten and Lee. To his displeasure, Gai-sensei was there as well. He tried whispering to catch Tenten's attention. "Tenten! Over here!"

Tenten was wishing she was anywhere else in the world when she heard Neji call her. Looking between the choices of waiting with Neji of waiting with Gai and Lee, she decided on the former. Slyly, she tried to sneak away without Gai or Lee noticing. Luckily, they wee over-preoccupied with the upcoming exams. She successfully made it out unnoticed. After reaching Neji, she immediately proceeded to bag on him. "Why didn't you come here sooner? I've been stuck with them all morning."

"I was waiting for Hinata-sama." Neji sighed. While Tenten was one of the few girls he could stand, he was still annoyed whenever she took out her own annoyance on him.

"Oh." Tenten craned her neck and looked around. "Where is she?"

"Hiashi-sama didn't allow her to come. She won't be participating in the exam."

"That's too bad. I heard she has become a much better ninja. It's a shame she won't be able to test herself."

"There's always next exam."

"Of course! So, how do you think they're going to pick who goes and who gets cut?"

Neji shrugged his shoulders and remained silent. They waited for the rest of the genin to arrive. After about another half hour, the Godaime appeared and ordered the doors to be closed.

"Now, about fifty of you have showed up. I am sorry to say that only 24 percent of you will be able to make it to the exams. For any idiots out there, it means twelve of you will take the exams and the rest wait 'til next time. During the drawings, you will not use any special techniques or bloodlimits to cheat. If you do, you are automatically banned from the exams. Now, I want you to get into a single straight line and draw a piece of paper from the basket. Chuunin and jounin, if you wish to chaperon the teams, then you will also have to draw."

Neji and Tenten both got in the line. To their dissatisfaction, they saw that their sensei had gotton in line. "He better not get picked." Tenten muttered.

* * *

"Hey, Shikamaru, come wait in line with us!" Ino dragged him into the line besides Chouji. "I'm so excited! I hope I make it!" 

"Uh, Ino. I don't think I should be in this line. I mean, I don't want to chaperon any team." Shikamaru tried to back away.

Chouji butted in. "Don't worry. You're only waiting with us. You don't have to take a slip.

"Oh, alright. But I have a bad feeling about this. Troublesome." he muttered.

The line got closer. Soon, it was Ino's turn to pick a paper. Shikamaru tuned to walk away, saying something about getting away before some troublesome thing happened.

"Don't worry, Shikamaru!" Chouji patted him on the back for reassurance, but it was just a little too hard. "Oops."

Shikamaru was sent tumbling into the basket. Before he had time to react, a slip of paper just happened to fall into his hand. His lips moved in slow motion. "Nooooooo!"

"Next." Chouji walked up and took a slip. "Heh. Sorry. Oh well, what are the chances that you got in?"

"Right." Shikamaru replied weakly. '_Just my luck._'

Asuma walked up to him. "Wow, Shikamaru! I'm surprise you were motivated into volunteering to watch the genin!"

"Actually, Asuma-sensei, it was an accident."

"Oh." The smile Asuma wore drooped a bit. _'I thought my great teaching had brought some motivation into him._'

After the last person drew a slip, Iruka stood up. "May I have your attention! May I have your attention!" It was more or a command than a question. The majority of the crowd settled down. "Now, open the slips of paper you drew."

"Iruka-sensei! They're blank!" Shikamaru heard Naruto shout.

"Be patient!" Iruka made a few seals. The papers turned colors to either red or green. Shikamaru stared at the red paper in his hand. Chouji's an Ino's turned green. "Those of you with green papers...do not participate in the next exam." Shikamaru's heart sank. His stomach tightened as he prepared himself for what Iruka was going to say next. "Everyone with red papers, come forward. You will be placed into teams."

"Chouji! Hurry, trade papers." Shikamaru shoved his paper into Chouji's hand and took Chouji's before he could react. Soon, his paper changed from red to green, and Chouji's became red. His face fell. "I'm doomed."

"Sorry, Shikamaru." Couji looked at him sympathetically. "Well, you should go up."

Iruka raised his voice again. "Anyone who didn't get a red slip, please file out the room to avoid confusion!"

* * *

Sakura's face fell as she saw her green slip. Both Sasuke's and Naruto's were red. Even Kakashi had a red one. Naruto jumped up and down repeating, "I made it! I made it!" He stopped and looked at everyone's paper. "Sasuke, you made it too? Hmph! Nooo! Sakura-chan! You didn't?" 

Sakura smiled meekly. "It's okay. There's always next time, ne?" she turned towards the doorway. "You should go up. I'll go meet Ino-pig. She probably didn't make it either by what her face looks like." Before Naruto could protest, Sakura left to join the crowd of disappointed genin.

"Oh well. Come on, Naruto. We're going to draw for teams." Kakashi pointed at the other side of he room.

* * *

"Whoo hoo!! Look, Akamaru! Shino got a red slop too!!" Kiba ran over excitedly. "Shino! Let's cross our fingers so that we'll be on the same team!! Yeah, we'll ace the exams, one, two, three!" 

'_Oh no. He made it too. I hope we're not on the same team._' "Where's Hinata?" Shino asked. He hadn't seen her since he arrived.

"I dunno. I guess she didn't make the cut. That stinks. Her vision helps a lot. We would be the ultimate team!"

"Not to mention she's much better company than you."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Akamaru barked.

* * *

"Lee!" 

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

Neji and Tenten stood, disgusted and embarrassed at their teacher's and teammate's display of affection. '_It's great that Tenten made it...but why did those two have to as well?_" Thought Neji. Tenten simply rolled her eyes.

Two figures with blood red hair walked past them. The girl muttered something under her breath. On the backs of their outfits was the symbol of a fireball. Neji looked at them curiously. 'I don't think I've ever seen that clan symbol before.' He and Tenten followed them to Iruka, leaving Gai and Lee behind.

* * *

Iruka waited with Genma for the selected genin to gather around. He observed as twelve genin and the three others arrived. Among them, were seven of the genin that had made it to the preliminaries the previous year. '_I see everyone on Seirei's and Neji's team made it. Seirei's team graduated a year before Gai's cell. They will be very experienced._' Behind them, Iruka saw two twins. '_A boy and a girl. They must be the new genin from the Aguni clan. I heard they're a few years older than Naruto. Speaking of which,' _Iruka turned his head and saw Naruto. He couldn't help but grin at Naruto's enthusiasm. _'I have to remember to buy him some ramen before he leaves.'_

After the small group assembled before him, Iruka took a deep breath. "Congratulations on behalf of being chosen to represent Konoha. Please give your name to Genma-the one with the . . . toothpick in his mouth. He'll write it down and then we'll have the three temporary cell leaders choose who will be in their team." Iruka indicated to Gai, Kakashi, and Shikamaru.

"Uh, Iruka-sensei?" Shikamaru raised his hand. "What if I don't want to go? This is too troublesome."

"I'll take it from here, Iruka," Genma turned to Shikamaru. "If you don't want to go, you shouldn't have drawn."

"But, it was an acci-"

"It doesn't matter. What's done is done. You draw a red slip, you go. Nothing you do can get you out of it. Not unless you are near death. Are you clear?"

Shikamaru's face fell. "Troublesome."

"Now, let's start from the right." Genma recognized the face from the last exam.

"I'm going to be the next Hokage! My name's Uzu-"

"-maki Naruto. I know." Genma wrote the name down and threw it in a jar. He looked up. Another familiar face. "Uchiha Sasuke. Hoping your match won't be interrupted again?" He wrote down the name and threw it in the jar. "Next."

"Aburame Shino"

"Next."

"INUZUKA KIBA!"

"NEXT!"

"Aguni Hane."

Genma looked up. He saw her blood red hair and violet eyes. "Ah. From the ancient Aguni clan. It's been a while since one of you have represented Konoha." He scribbled the name down and looked up again. "And next is another Aguni. What's your name?"

The boy had his hands propped behind his head and yawned. "Aguni Senshu. Do you happen to have a pillow here?" Hane smacked his head.

Genma ignored him. "Next."

"Tenten."

"Next. Oh, you." He wrote Hyuuga Neji on the slip. "Next."

"ROCK LEE! YEAH!'

Genma sighed as he wrote down the name. _'Genin are either too excited or too serious. Can't there be any normal people_?' "Next."

"Hyuuga Uwayaku." The Hyuuga wore an outfit similar to Neji's. His forehead protector was tied around his arm. His forehead showed he was from the Main House. An arrogant smirk lingered at his lips. Neji recognized him as the one that taunted him the night before and clenched his fists.

The toothpick almost fell from Genma's mouth. '_Two Hyuuga's, one from the Main, one from the Branch House again. I hope they don't get put in the same team_.' He clentched the toothpick between his teeth and put the name down. "Next."

"Toruchi Seirei." A female perked up. She had short, light brown hair. Her forehead protector was tied on its proper place to hold back her hair. A white t-shirt rested under a long dark blue tank top. She wore long, black shorts, and a black sash was tied around her waist. A katana was strapped across her back.

"Next."

"Morino Ikioi."

'_Morino...is he related to Ibiki? I'll have to ask him later. They don't really look alike._' The boy had sea green hair and blue eyes. He wore a fishnet shirt beneath a black shirt and black pants. A rubber band held his short hair at the cape of his neck. Genma finished slipping the paper in the jar and stood up. "Alright. Kakashi, Gai, and Shikamaru. You will each take tuns drawing names from the jar. The four names will be the members in you temporary cells."

Shikamaru groaned. '_My cell's going to either be my age or older. How troublesome._' He walked up to draw a name. Genma looked at the paper and smirked. "Uzumaki Naruto." Kakashi reached in and pulled out a slip. "Hyuuga Neji."

Neji sighed in relief. '_At least I don't have Gai-sensei for a while_.'

Gai opened his slip. His eyes sparkled. "Luck is on our side! Rock Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

Tenten walked to Neji's side and closed her eyes. She looked as if she wanted to puke.

Shikamaru looked at the paper he pulled and groaned. "Inuzuka Kiba." '_Why me? I got the two loud mouths of the group. It's bad enough with Naruto. Oh well, at least I didn't get Lee, too. The three of them together would have been a handful_.'

Kakashi drew another lot. "Tenten." She sighed in relief.

The drawings continued until the three teams were decided. Shikamaru's cell consisted of Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, Toruchi Seirei, and Aguni Senshu. In Kakashi's cell was Hyuuga Neji, Tenten, Morino Ikioi, and Aburame Shino. Gai's team had Rock Lee, Aguni Hane, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hyuuga Uwayaku.

Tsunade walked back. "Your teams have now been selected. The leader of each group will explain any essential information. All teams will report here tomorrow at noon. You will all set off to Lightning Country then. You're dismissed."

Shikamaru stared at his group members. '_Explain any essential information. What does she mean by that? I don't know any information_.' He turned to face his team. Naruto and Kiba were bickering over something. Shikamaru could have sworn he heard 'Hinata.' He turned to face the other two members. The Aguni had walked over to the wall and laid down with his head rested against it. Shikamaru felt compelled to join him.

Seirei walked up to him. "Um, Shikamaru...san."

"Just Shikamaru. I'm younger than you are."

"Okay...Shikamaru...what exactly will we need to bring to Lightning Country?"

"I'm not sure. Go ask one of the jounin instructors." Shikamaru walked away.

Seirei's mouth hung ajar. "You're supposed to be our leader!" She shouted angrily. By then Shikamaru had already left. Frustrated, she walked over to Naruto and Kiba and pushed them apart. "Which of those two instructors," she gestured at Kakashi and Gai, "are more reliable?"

"Reliable?" Naruto asked.

"As in, on time, up-to-date, perfectly sane and helpful reliable?" Kiba added. They looked at each other and snickered. Then they burst out laughing. "Reliable." Naruto choked out. "Ha ha! That's a good one!"

"Why do I even bother?!" Seirei stormed out of the room in anger. '_I'm surrounded by incompetent, foolish, not to mention useless idiots!_'

* * *

Kakashi stared at his new cell. '_I managed to get two of Gai's subordinates. I wonder if they improved any since the last exam._' "Well," he began, " why don't you tell me a bit about yourselves? You can tell me your favorite and least favorite things, and your dreams." He turned to Neji. "Let's start out with the Hyuuga." 

"I don't want to tell you what I like. As of now, my least favorite things, or should I say 'persons,'" Neji pointed across the room, "are that bastard Uwayaku and Gai-sensei's over-flashy teeth." Tenten suppressed a snort. "I'm done."

"Okay. Tenten, your next."

"My favorite things are my weapons. My least favorite thing is when some one purposely ruins my weapons, and as Neji pointed out, Gai-sensei. My dream is to become the number one kunoichi in Konoha."

"Great. Alright, Morino Ikioi."

"Let's see...my favorite thing is confusing my opponent with genjutsu and making them look like fools. Teachers or people that irritate me are my main targets. I don't really have a lot of dislikes. My goal is to become a great interrogator like my uncle, Ibiki."

"You're related to Ibiki?"

"Yep. He and my father were cousins."

"Whatever." Kakashi turned to the last member of his cell. "Aburame Shino."

"Bugs. Kiba. Don't really have any." Shino speeded in monotone. Neji was impressed.

"Alright. Now I'll explain the terrain in Lightning Country. It can get pretty rocky and it has sparse trees. At this time of the year, there'll be a bit of sprinkling going on, so you'll want to pack accordingly. Meet me outside the tower at ten o'clock tomorrow." Kakashi made a hand seal. "Later." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"You know," Tenten started. "I heard he's always late. Maybe we should wait and arrive late..."

"I agree with Tenten. Gai-sensei always took pride on being on time. He said he was beating Kakashi-san." Neji joined.

"Alright then," Morino agreed, "it's decided."

They looked at Shino, who shrugged his shoulders. "Fine by me."

* * *

"Alright! I shall begin our team bonding by starting with the traditional introductions! First up-LEE!" 

"Yes, Gai-sensei! My goal is to become a great shinobi using only taijutsu!" Lee exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Ah! An excellent dream Lee!" Both Gai and Lee were unaware of the looks of annoyance and repulse by the other members as they shared their sentiment. "Okay. Next is you! Hyuuga Uwayaku!"

"I want to become a strong shinobi and bring even more fame to the Hyuuga name."

'_Another Hyuuga, my hand has a thing for getting Hyuuga's on my team._' "Alright! Now, Uchiha Sasuke! You are up!"

"I want to become strong enough to kill someone."

"Ah, yes..." Gai nodded. "It will be a long and hard journey before you accomplish that feat." Inwardly, he wondered it is was even possible. "Now, lastly, Aguni Hane."

"A little like the Hyuuga," Hane paused, "my goal is to save the Aguni clan and then have it be recognized as a superior clan." she paused. Her eyes turned red. "And I will crush anyone who gets in my way."

Gai listened intently. '_Three of my subordinates have blood limits. I must make sure to keep an eye on them so they don't bring too much harm to each other when they train.' _"Okay. Tsunade-sama said to be here at noon, but I want you here at dawn! We will be starting a vigorous training routine to get you in shape for the exams."

Lee jumped in the air in joy. Sasuke was mildly interested. '_Now I'll be able to see how Lee trains. It may pay off, seeing how strong he is._'

Uwayaku and Hane stood to the side uninterested. "Are we done now? I'd like to go." Hane asked.

"Yes. You are free to go and spend your valuable youth!" Gai made a posture. "The great azure beast of Konoha will not take your precious time any longer today!"

"Whatever." She walked over to her brother and pulled him up by his hair. After much kicking and harsh words, Senshu finally stood up and reluctantly left.

Gai sighed. This would probably be a long trip.

* * *

That night found Iruka and Naruto sitting at the Ichiraku eating ramen. Naruto was happily shoving the noodles in his mouth and slurping them up. "Calm down, Naruto. At this rate, you might choke and miss the chuunin exams." 

"Mph mm mph m-" Naruto started choking as a mouthful of ramen slipped down his throat. Iruka started to beat his back.

"Are you okay? Naruto?" He questioned worriedly.

Naruto took a large gulp. "Fine. Well, what I was saying was that you shouldn't worry. I'm going to make it to the chuunin exams, and I'm going to beat everyone with my secret weapon!"

"Secret weapon?"

"Yeah. The rasengan." Naruto replied proudly.

"Wow. The rasengan? That's quite a feat. Well, keep it up." Iruka laid his money on the counter. "Good luck, Naruto." He got up.

"Wait, where are you going? I'm not done eating yet!" Naruto protested.

"Err, sorry Naruto, but I don't have any money left to pay for more ramen. Tough luck." Iruka left.

"Hmph. Cheapskate." Naruto left the raman bar and walked home. He was nearing his apartment when he ran into someone. "Huh? Hey Hinata-chan!"

"H-hi, Naruto-kun," Hinata played with her fingers as a faint blush rose to her cheeks.

"Kiba and I were just talking about you this morning!"

"You, you were?" Hinata's hopes rose a bit.

"Yeah. Kiba said that you wanted him to win, but I said that you wanted me more."

"H-huh?" Hinata jumped in surprise.

"Oh, I mean in the last exams, when we fought."

"Oh."

"Well, it's obvious what the answer is. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"A-actually, I w-was looking for you." She fiddled her hands nervously. "I wanted t-to wish you luck for t-the exams."

"Gee, thanks Hinata-chan. Wait 'til I tell Kiba. He's going to be so jealous! See ya!" Naruto ran off.

* * *

Tenten lay on her bed. 'I_ can't believe I'm on the same team as Neji again! I hope I do better than last time. That sand nin- Temari – she made me look like a child. Maybe this time I can impress Neji. Now that I've learned that new jutsu, I can have a big advantage over some people.'_ She rose from her bed and walked over to a shelf. '_Hmm. What scrolls should I take with me._' Her eyes scanned the scrolls that were lined against the wall. '

* * *

Shikamaru paced around his room, every now and then picking up an object and throwing it in his bag. '_This will be so troublesome_.' He looked around his room and spotted his shougi and go boards. '_Maybe I can get someone to play with me.' _An image of Temari crept into his head. '_Yeah! She's pretty good. I hope she goes to the exams, because I don't think Naruto will want to play_.' He stuffed the two boards into his bag and tried to lift it. "Oof!" '_Maybe I over packed_.'

* * *

A large fire burned in the center of a dark room. All that was seen were the orange flames that licked into the darkness. No light came from it, as if it were trapped inside the heart of the fire. 

"It is now up to you." An old, worn voice creaked from the darkness. "We thought that we could save ourselves, but our path has strayed us further into the darkness. You must find a new path, that will free us. I feel our time is near. Hurry and find the key, before we are engulfed by the darkness."

"We will not fail."

The flames turned red, as if in protest and soared towards the ceiling. The old voice shouted a word. The flames were dragged down as they desperately tried to stretch upwards. Slowly, the flames became a light shade of violet. "Hurry! Go now!" The light steps of a pair of feet were heard as they escaped from the darkness.

* * *

Gai sat on the bow of a tree and waited for his new cell to arrive. First, Lee came. He immediately wanted to start training, but Gai told him to wait for his teammates. Next came Sasuke, he leaned against the wall of the tower, away from where Lee was sitting. A few minutes later, Hane showed up. Gai sat, irritated that it had taken so long for everyone to show up. The sun was now fully up and the Hyuuga still had not arrived. 

"Alright everyone, I think it's obvious that Uwayaku will not be here until later, so we will start our training program without him."

"Yes!" Lee raised his fist in the air.

"Since this is your first day, I'll go easy on you by having you run twenty laps around Konoha to warm-up."

"Yes, Gai-sensei!" Lee made a pose and took off, leaving Sasuke and Hane in the dust.

"What do you mean twenty laps? That's crazy!" Hane shouted. "We'll never finish in time."

Sasuke smirked. "Then get started. Unless you can't make it. But I should have expected as much from a kunoichi."

Hane growled. "Can it pipsqueak." She took off, following Lee's trail. Sasuke was about to follow suit when Gai called him.

"What?" he was annoyed. He didn't want to get beaten by a girl, even if she was older than him.

"I must warn you. Do not get onto Hane's bad side. Much of her clan is shrouded in mystery, and she seems to have a short temper. You might end up getting hurt."

"Her clan is not really known, huh? Then that means they're weak, and there's nothing to worry about." Sasuke replied arrogantly. He ignored Gai and ran off.

Gai sighed. '_How does Kakashi manage him?_' He turned away. _'Now I must find Uwayaku and punish him for his absence_.' He walked towards the Hyuuga complex. When he reached it, he found Neji and Uwayaku training near the doorway. They were punching a beanbag as if there was no tomorrow. The poor bags didn't even have any time to return before they were angrily punched back.

Hinata stood to the side, nervously twiddling her fingers. When she saw Gai, she ran over to him. "P-please stop them, Gai-sensei! T-they have been at it a-all morning!"

Gai patted her on the shoulder and walked over to them. When they punched the bag again, he appeared on the other side and punched them back. Neji had enough sense to jump backwards, surprised as he was, but Uwayaku stood dumbly in shock as it came back and hit him full force. Gai commended Neji. 'Well, it looks like you're still in shape, despite being under my rival's training." He turned to Uwayaku. "As for you, you will be severely punished for missing my training. I want you to run 35 laps around Konoha! Now!"

"But-"

"Now I'll make it forty! Do you want anything else?"

Uwayaku groaned and started running. Neji smirked at him. He glared back. "Just you wait..."

"45 laps!" He gritted his teeth and ran off. Gai walked over to Neji. "Now, I don't want you two causing any trouble during the duration of this exam, understand?"

Neji turned away. "Whatever. If he provokes me, then I will fight him."

"B-but Neji-nii-san!" Hinata protested.

Gai sighed. Children these days never listened. "Then try and stay way from him."

"Why not tell him to stay away from me? Remember, from now until the exams are over, you are not my sensei, you're his."

"Very well. But you should be cautious." Gai said good bye to Hinata and took his leave.

"Neji-nii-san, y-you should listen to Gai-sensei." Hinata spoke nervously. "Uwayaku, he...he knows h-how to activate the c-curse seal."

Neji turned around. "What?" His eyes widened. _'If he knows it, then there is no doubt that he will use it against me._' "How did he learn it? He is not even an important member of the council. He doesn't matter."

Hinata looked at the ground. "H-his father thought t-that it would help him i-in the exams," her voice quieted.

He seethed with anger. No doubt the Hyuuga had wanted his son to learn it in order to get rid of any Branch members he encountered. It was further proof that Uwayaku was weak. "I'm going to be fine. If he even attempts it..." He didn't continue. "I'm going to meet my new cell now." Neji walked away, leaving Hinata behind.

* * *

It was noon and the three teams entered the Hokage tower to meet Tsunade. Everyone was there except Kakashi and Tsunade herself. Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Kiba and Naruto were arguing about 'Hinata' again. It looked like Naruto was winning. Senshu was standing besides a panting Hane. Seirei was telling all of her troubles to Uwayaku, who slumped on the ground, not listening. Everyone else stood around, waiting for Tsunade. 

Kakashi finally appeared in a puff of smoke. Tenten immediately rushed over to him and demanded where he was. "Well, you see, I saw this guy using this super cool jutsu and I just had to ask him to teach me."

Ikioi rushed over to him. "Really? Wow! What was it? Can you show us?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Well, you see, the guy swore me to secrecy. I'm not supposed to show it to anyone."

"Oh." Ikioi's grin faded. He was clearly disappointed. "That's too bad."

Tenten's eye twitched. "And you want to be an interrogator?! You'd probably believe that a guy standing in the middle of dead corpses with a bloody sword in his hand was innocent if he told you he was!" She took a deep breath.

It was Neji's turn to raise his eyebrow. "Don't you think that's going a bit too far, Tenten?"

Ikioi blinked his eyes in shock. Tsunade chose that moment to enter. "Well. I'm glad to see everyone is here on time today." Tenten fumed. "I just wanted to wish you luck and give you a map to Lightning Country. Remember, you're representing Konoha, so do your best."

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted. "Let's go kick some nin-butt!"

Hane stood up. Her eyes became a shade of red. Six tails of flames seemed to spin into her pupils**. It begins**.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I shouldn't have posted this, but since my other fic, _The Uchiha Secret_, is doing SO well (notice the sarcasm dripping) I decided to start another fic. I won't be updating this for a while, by a while, I mean a WHILE, as in a month. Meanwhile, please review! -chairomori 

**June 20, 2007** – I went through and edited this chapter. Man, there were so many grammatical errors I'm surprised no one told me about them! They're probably more even though I perused it for half an hour, but I probably got most of them. How do I feel about this chapter, looking back after two years? Hm. Some parts felt really awkward and amateurish, as well as undeveloped. I guess two years makes a big difference, huh? Anyway, enjoy! -chairomori


	2. Encounters

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto whatsoever, except for my fictions.

"Speaking"

'_Thinking_'

**Demon talking**

_Flashback_

A/N: Thanks for your great reviews! They made me so happy I jumped up and down!

Replying to one of them, I know that five OC's are a lot, but you'll be meeting more in this chapter. In total, there will probably be around twelve OC's. Sorry if you get confused! But I need a team from lightning, etc...

Bloodlines and Demons

by chairomori

Chapter Two: Encounters

_The journey to Lightning Country will last around five days. We will be traveling near the Sound border so be extra cautious. We won't be able to avoid a fight if we confront them._ Kakashi's warning ran across Ikioi's mind as he stared at the four sound shinobi that faced him.

"Well, well. Look what we have here." One of the four walked closer as Ikioi stumbled back. "A dog from Konoha. Orochimaru-sama will be pleased if we send him this head."

"Wait! Shouldn't you think about it first?" He backed away a bit more. '_Which jutsu should I use? None of the ones I know will help me in this situation. I need to stall for time and hope everyone will realize I'm in trouble._' The sound nin suddenly lunged towards him with his fist extended. Ikioi ducked and ran. "Wagh! Can't we all just get along!"

"Heh. Why would Konoha send such a weak coward here? You're not taking the Chuunin exams are you? Because you'll surely fail. Not that you'll ever make it there." The sound nin created several chakra strings and threw them in front of Ikioi. "Looks like you've reached the end of the line."

"Shen, stop playing around, and finish him off already." One of his teammates ordered.

The one called Shen rolled his eyes. "Stop telling me how to kill my prey. I do what I want, got it?" He took out a string of kunai and grinned. "Now let's see how many times I can hit this dog before he dies."

Ikioi gulped. '_If I use genjutsu on him, the others will attack me at once. The only other jutsu I know are those from the academy. I wish Uwayaku or Seirei were here right now.' _He pulled out a few explosive tags. _'I knew I should have brought some kunai with me. Why did I leave them all at camp?' _He started to dodge the kunai as they were thrown at him. Pain suddenly seared through his arm. A kunai was protruding from it.

"That's one hit." Shen chuckled madly and continued to throw more.

'_I need to be more cautious._' Ikioi pulled the kunai out of his arm and ignored the crimson flowing from his wound. He wrapped and explosive note around it while using chakra to run up a tree and threw it at Shen.

"Oh come on! Do you really think you can use my own weapon against me? Eh? What's this?" BOOM. He was sent hurling back as the tag exploded. "Uh. You brat! That's it, no more playing around." He took out a scroll from his sleeve and bit his thumb. "Kuchiyosei no jutsu: Hijinsei!" (Summoning Technique: Living Fire) A stream of fire flew from the scroll and headed towards Ikioi.

"Agghh!" '_This is it! I'm going to die young and all alone in a place far from Konoha. I wonder if my teammates will miss me?_' He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes as he felt the heat on his face. His heart pounded against his chest as he waited for what would never come. When he realized he hadn't been bit, he opened his eyes and saw Hane standing in front of him with her arms in front of her.

"Idiot. You can't even get firewood without causing trouble. What kind of a ninja are you?" She shouted at him. Her outstretched arms held the fire and gathered it into a ball. She moved her hands back and then pushed them forward. The ball of fire flew towards Shen and burnt him alive.

"Shen!" The other two sound nin ran towards their fallen comrade. The remaining one turned tail and ran the opposite direction. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get the others. I'll be back, just hold them off a bit." He sprinted away. '_I'm not foolish enough to stay in this fight. She incinerated Shen by just barely moving her arms_.'

"Coward. Goukakyuu no jutsu." A ball of fire blew out from Hane's mouth. It looked like a regular jutsu, but the heat was immense. Ikioi could feel the heat radiating off the peculiar version of the jutsu.

The two sound nin jumped away before the attack hit them. It flew past and collided with the third member. He screamed as the flesh on his back melted upon impact. A kunai glided into his neck. He was dead before he hit the ground.

"W-what are you?" The two remaining were wide-eyed.

Hane smirked. Her eyes grinning madly. "Your gateway to perpetual sleep." She started to produce a series of seals. Her eyes shifted to vermillion as the seals were near completion.

"Zankuuha!" Two blasts of wind headed towards Hane, one on each side. The sound ninja smirked as their jutsu neared its prey. "You can't escape this!"

She jumped in the air at the last minute and formed the final seal. Her palm and index fingers were pressed against each other; the middle fingers were crossed. "Hinote no jutsu!" (Fire Blaze Technique) As she separated her hands, a ball of fire appeared in each palm. Hane gracefully landed on the terrafirma and aimed each palm at one opponent.

The sound nin held his breath in anticipation. The fireballs vanished. Confident in what seemed to be a failed attempt at a jutsu, he smirked. "I guess your pretty little balls were all show." His teammate joined him. "Yes. We'll show- agghh!" They began to twist in pain. "What...did you do...to us?" Another bloodcurdling scream escaped from their lips as a tongue of fire ruptured from their shoulders. Soon, another appeared in their chests. Then another and another, until their entire beings were engulfed in flames.

Ikioi turned away. '_How can she kill so easily?_' Fear swelled into his chest as Hane turned towards him; her eyes still crimson. '_What should I do? She's so scary. Maybe she won't notice me if I just hide behind this tree..._'

"Why are you cowering behind a tree? How pathetic. Don't tell me you're afraid of a few corpses." Her voice was taunting.

He swallowed. Sure, he'd been caught, but they were both from Konoha. They may not be teammates, but they were still on the same side, which meant he was perfectly safe...right? Right? He left the cover of the trees. "Who's afraid? I-I'm not cowering behind a tree. I was...I was..."Ikioi tried to think of something.

"Well?" Hane crossed her arms. "You were what? Trying to scare away the enemy by turning your back away and quivering like a coward?" She mocked him.

"Exactly." He agreed without listening.

"You fool!" He was startled when she threw a kunai at him. "How did you ever become a shinobi? You are a worthless piece of trash that doesn't even know how to fight. I should exterminate you right now." Hane moved closer to him. "What made you think that someone like you could become anything higher than a genin? If you don't get your act together and train harder, I'll eliminate you from the exams before they start. Understand?"

All he could do was nod. He was too terrified to perform any other type of action. '_Why me? Why did _I _get chosen to collect firewood with her?_' As she walked past, he tried to stop his knees from quivering. '_I'll just try to make as little noise as possible until we get back to camp._'

* * *

"Your late! Everyone else has completed their task-" Gai continued to scold Hane and Ikioi when they returned. Ikioi looked around, Gai was right. All the sleeping bags had been laid out. A heap of fish had been set aside and open space, probably for the fire. "-any reasons why you were delayed?"

Hane, who had tuned Gai out during his lecture, was the one to reply. "He," she pointed to Ikioi, "was attacked by for sound shinobi. Good enough?" Then she left and discarded her load of firewood in the space.

Gai's forehead constricted at her rudeness. "You! From Kakashi's cell, Ikioi! What happened?"

"M-me?" He pointed to himself and glanced at Hane, who's back was turned to him.

"Is there anyone else here named Ikioi? Hurry! Before I have you run five hundred laps around the campsite."

"W-well, Hane suggested that we split up to search for firewood. A while had passed when these four shinobi from sound country appeared. We fought, and I was losing. They were going to finish me off when she, she came and slaughtered everyone. It was horrible! How she defeated them was like torture." He paused.

"Amazing, most genin have never and will never kill unless they move up a rank to chuunin; but here, Hane seems like an experienced shinobi in the art of killing." Gai voiced aloud. "Tell me, how did she kill them? What techniques did she use?"

"They were all strange to me except for one-Goukakyuu no jutsu. But there was something different about it; it's heat was intense, and as soon as it hit the sound shinobi, the skin on his back started pouring off..." Ikioi continued to recount the events.

Gai nodded. "Very well. You may go now." He thought to himself. '_I must inform Kakashi of this, though he is my rival. Shikamaru should also know, as he is now a chuunin._' He proceeded to gather them together and inform them while the group of genin started the fire.

* * *

Naruto threw the firewood in a pile and tried to light it, but nothing happened. "Huh? What?"

"No! No! You loser! You do it like this!" Kiba took out all the wood and started lining them up.

"What d'you think you're doing? You can't make a fire like that! Give me!" Naruto tried to pry the wood from Kiba.

"Hah! You go ahead and make me!" They started brawling and immediately forgot about making the fire.

Neji rolled his eyes and started to arrange the firewood correctly. "Incompetent." he grunted. When it was finished he stepped back.

Hane walked over and threw her hand over the pile. Then she retracted it. A small gleam of fire soon grew.

Lee grew wide-eyed with admiration. "Wow! Hane-chan! You put your hand over the wood and a fire appeared. I didn't even see you do any seals! How did you do it?"

She glared at him. "Idiot, it's called a match." She shook a small box of them in her hand. "And don't call me 'chan'."

"Oh. Don't worry Hane-chan! I won't!"

Naruto and Kiba stepped away from each other to take a breath. Their eyes shone with the fire of determination. A passionate orange glow illuminated them. Wait...a passionate glow? They turned and found they were inches from the fire.

"Agghh! Who was the baka that put that there!"

"Better yet, who made it without us!"

* * *

A twig snapped as it was trampled by a pair of feet. "What is this?" On the ground were three scorch marks, its outline similar to that of a human. In front of him, was one of his subordinates, apparently dead. He surveyed the remains of the body. "Fire attacks. A Konoha nin must have done this." '_A perfect excuse to attack them_.' "We must avenge our fallen, by eliminating them." '_Orochimaru-sama will be pleased with all the heads we will bring back._'

Behind him stood scores of shadows, crouching, waiting for the onslaught to begin.

* * *

"So basically, Konoha has just killed four nins from Sound. The worst that could happen is that they ambush us for revenge." Kakashi folded his arms back.

"But I think we should set up traps around the campsite, just in case. How troublesome." Aside, Shikamaru muttered to himself. "If that guy hadn't gotten caught and that girl hadn't killed them, we wouldn't have to be as cautious. Why is my life so troublesome?"

"Excellent idea, Shikamaru! Why don't you go ahead and have the genin assist you? It will be an excellent exercise to aid you with your leadership skills!" Gai flashed a radiant smile in Shikamaru's direction. '_Of course, being a jounin, I already thought of that. Hah hah! I bet my rival Kakashi doesn't even know what to do!' _He blinked and saw Kakashi leaving with Shikamaru. "Kakashi! What are you doing?"

"Uh, suggesting a few trap formations to Shikamaru." Kakashi answered lazily.

'_My rival, you have beaten me yet again! Nevertheless, I still lead! Our score is...our score is..._' "OH NO!" Gai clutched his head in agony. "I forgot our score!"

"Huh?" Kakashi gave a quick glance to Gai and then decided to ignore him. Turning to Shikamaru, he continued, "As I was saying, we could put some-"

Gai ran in-between Kakashi and Shikamaru. "I also have some ideas! But they are so great that I will let you finish first Kakashi."

"This is too troublesome. Why don't we just split the area into three sectors and each do our own thing?" Shikamaru was beginning to understand why Neji was constantly in a grumpy mood. His sensei was a lunatic.

"What a splendid idea! Wow, Shikamaru! You make a great chuunin! Keep it up and soon, you will be a jounin like Kakashi and me!" Gai gave him another blinding grin, completed with a super thumbs-up fist.

Shikamaru groaned as he felt his sight slowly diminish. He decided to walk asay as quickly as possible before he was subjected to anymore of Gai's unconscious torture and immediately proceeded to gather his cell together and explain the situation. As he feared, Naruto and Kiba jumped at the chance of setting traps.

"This is so cool. I'm gonna show everyone off by making the greatest trap, because I am Uzumaki Naruto! The future Hokage! Yeah!" Due to his excitement, Naruto failed to notice Kiba's fist heading his way until it was too late. It hit him square on his head. "Ow! What was that for dog-breath?"

Kiba grinned. "I'm just stopping you from saying anything else you might regret. I mean, you? Hokage? Don't make me laugh. You're not good enough."

"Whaa?" Naruto's face grew red. Steam began to materialize from his ears. He stomped closer to Kiba. "Take that back dog-breath."

"Make me, loser!" Kiba regretted his choice of words when Naruto obeyed and threw himself onto Kiba.

Seirei sighed. "Not again. They've been quarreling about everything all day." She glared at Shikamaru. "You're the leader. Don't you think it's time you did something about it?"

"How troublesome." He hated to admit it, but Seirei had a point. At this rate, they'd be unable to fight if there was an ambush.

"Hmm, troublesome. I like that. What a great word." Senshu lazily rested his head upon a tree root, his legs stretched out.

Shikamaru finally decided to take charge. "Seirei, Senshu, after I stop them, I need you to tie them tightly." He formed a seal. "Kagemane no jutsu."

Naruto froze in the middle of his attempt to choke Kiba. "Hey! What gives?" He tried to turn but couldn't move. "Kiba! What did you do?"

Kiba was transfixed in the same situation. "What are you talking about? What did _you _do? I can't move! Hey, Akamaru! Do you know what happened?"

Akamaru, who had wisely decided to sit the brawl out, was lying near a tree, observing it, when Kiba called. After examining the situation, he proceeded to reply with a "woof woof ruff woof" and returned to his former activity.

"Ah! I see! Shikamaru used his jutsu on us!" Kiba explained. Soon he found ropes being coiled about him. "Eh! Who's there? Stop that!"

"Hold still!" Seirei pulled at the rope before tightly securing it in a knot. "There!"

"I'm all finished here." Senshu announced. "Now what?"

Shikamaru released the jutsu. "Tie them to that tree over there."

"Shikamaru! Why are you betraying us?" Naruto struggled with the bindings.

He shoved his hands into his pockets before explaining. "No offense Naruto, but I don't want you tripping over a wire and setting off all the traps. The same goes for you Kiba. Sorry. You guys will have to sit this one out. He gestured to Seirei and Senshu after they completed their task. "I'm going to tell you the layout now."

Soon after he left, Naruto and Kiba tried to break the rope by pulling their bodies out. After about half and hour, the rope was still intact. "What is this thing made of?

* * *

A figure made its way through the trees towards and opening. It quietly slinked into the campsite, its presence unknown. It came upon another figure and knelt down.

"How many?" The figure demanded impatiently.

"Only three teams, a total of fifteen."

"You may go."

After the former figure left, the latter made his way towards a crowd of shinobi. Their hitai-ate presented the symbol of the hidden sound. He called for their attention.

"You all probably know that four of our own were brutally killed earlier today and that it is suspected that the hidden leaf is responsible for it. We have now discovered their campsite and will attack it at once. They have only three teams among them, in comparison to our twenty three, even with four of them away. We will easily defeat them. Now let us all head towards them and-" Two flashes of gold pierced into his neck and spine before he could finish.

A girl with snow-white hair tied in a ponytail appeared from the shadows. She sedately headed towards the dead body and pulled out two golden boomerang rings. Her head carried the forehead protector of sand. Looking up, she gave a slight grin. "What was he saying?"

The silence that had enveloped the camp when their leader fell immediately erupted into a series to war cries and various roars of "kill her" and "attack."

Suddenly, a huge wave of sand towered above them and plummeted down, burying half of the sound shinobi in the process. Silence once again swept over them as they realized what had happened.

The white haired girl turned her head back. "Hey, Gaara! Stop taking away all the fun. We want to fight too."

A thin blue haired boy jumped in front of her. "Hekitei no jutsu." (Air Burst Technique) A barrage of kunai exploded before they hit. "If you want to fight then pay attention!" He had he sand hitai-ate around his neck.

Gaara walked behind another kunoichi with blond hair tied up in four pigtails. "Fuu, Nakuno's right. You're too eager. It's really going to get you in trouble one day."

"Okay, whatever Temari." Fuu backed away a bit. "Now can we do a little something about them?" She pointed down at the approaching sound nin.

Temari pulled out her fan. "You three have already had a turn. Now it's mine. Kamaitachi!" A blast of wind knocked back almost all that was left of the remaining sound shinobi.

"Now we're even so I get to attack again!" Fuu held up her boomerangs and was going to attack, but Nakuno stopped her.

"Hold on, since I only used my jutsu to stop you from getting skewered, I should be able to go again. I mean, I didn't actually get to fight with them."

"A jutsu is a jutsu and you used yours!"

Gaara let out an irritated sigh. They never should have made the agreement to take turns fighting. It seemed the treaty hadn't stopped the quarreling amongst their team, it just heightened it. In fact, it was becoming _very_ annoying. He tried to ignore Shukaku's advice to squish them, which was sounding quite sensible. A vein throbbed on his forehead as he could not stand it any longer.

"Uh, Gaara, what are you doing?" Temari looked at him quizingly.

"Hn. Shutting them up." He managed to mutter through his clenched teeth.

"Wait! You're not going to..." She shivered. '_I thought he had control. I need to stop him._' "Gaara! You can't do that! "They're-" she clammed up at the deadly glare he gave her.

Gaara walked over to Fuu and Nakuno and held his arm out. Sand snaked out and coiled around their mouths. Then he summoned another wave of sand from the earth. The two started struggling to escape the sand.

"Gaara, stop!" Temari screamed.

He ignored her and commanded the sand to crush the remaining sound nin. Then he released Fuu and Nakuno.

"Huh?" Temari turned her head. "You were planning on getting rid of the sound nin, the whole time?"

"What did you think I was going to do? I told you I was going to shut them up."

"But...you...what?" A variety of expressions appeared on her face before she began to laugh insanely. "I can't believe it! The whole time! Ha ha! You-ha ha ha!"

Gaara blinked, convinced that his sister had gone insane. '_People think I'm weird. They must have never seen my sister_.' He thought about what had happened to Kankuro before they left Suna and heaved a sigh. '_Or my idiot brother_.'

"I can't believe you Gaara! You didn't leave any Oto nin left for us!" Fuu shook a fist at him.

"At least you got to take down one. I only destroyed a bunch of kunai." Nakuno kicked a piece of metal that remained from his attack.

A deadly glare from Gaara stopped what would have been another verbal battle. Somewhere near them came a muffled noise. Temari stopped laughing as all four realized they had forgotten something. "Baki-sensei!"

They ran to the location where they had left him. When they arrived, they found him exactly as they had left him-a wad of paper was in his mouth and his arms and legs were tied to tree branches, which were encased with hundreds of explosion tags. There fore, even if Baki wasn't tied up, he wouldn't be able t move without setting off the chain of tags.

When he saw them, Baki gave them one of Gaara's signature death glares that sent shivers down their spines. He attempted to say something but the ball of paper was in the way.

"Um, w-why don't we leave him there a bit longer..." Fuu scratched her head. Out of all the pranks she had played on Baki since the start of the journey, this one had received the worst glare. It wasn't her fault, she reasoned. You would think that after all the pranks, the jounin instructor would be more cautious.

"Actually, Fuu, I think I want to live to a nice, old age. With the way you're keeping up, I'm not sure if you do." Nakuno stepped forward and took down a few tags. "You going to help? You're the one who put these up."

"Oh, alright." She started peeling them off various branches and taking down a few lines.

It was dusk by the time they finished. Fuu was just taking down the last tag when she 'accidently' triggered it and jumped away. A large explosion and Baki, though covered in dust, was finally free. "Fuuuuu!" He immediately chased her down.

"Uh oh!"

* * *

Everyone jerked awake as the long awaited explosion was heard. They quickly discarded their sleeping bags and stood with all their weapons ready.

"Get into the formation," Kakashi whispered to the genin. Ikioi took front position to easily use genjutsu. Behind him stood Tenten, and on either side of her was Neji and Shino. Everyone else took cover where there were no traps.

"Get ready." Tenten whispered to Ikioi.

Neji crossed his arms unhappily. '_Why do I have to stand here and do nothing? Ikioi gets to cast genjutsu on anyone that appears and Tenten pins them afterwards while Shino and I get stuck guarding them. Everyone else gets to take out whoever dodges the kunai or genjutsu. It's unfair!_' He waited for the nest trap to be triggered.

A resounding scream was heard signaling that the genjutsu area had been reached.

Shikamaru smirked a bit. _'They shouldn't have come that way. My cell set a myriad of ambushes. They'll never survive_.'

Meanwhile, the victims of the ambush were more than a little vexed.

"Fuu! Stop screaming! It's genjutsu!" Temari yelled. When she didn't listen, Temari angrily grabbed her and shook her roughly until she came to her senses.

"Wah! Temari! I was being chased by giant fireballs with fangs!" She hysterically looked around the canopy to make sure nothing would emerge.

"It was genjutsu!" Temari replied through gritted teeth.

"Shh. This whole area is probably littered with traps and genjutsu. We should fly above it." Baki suggested. "Gaara. You can take us there."

Gaara begrudingly created a large cloud of sand and carried them over the canopy.

Shikamaru glanced upwards form where he was and stared at the starless sky. He didn't think that whoever had entered their trap zone had a chance; unless that is, they sprouted wings and flew. That of course was im-. His face paled. How could he have forgotten? Summons. Someone might have had a flying summon, which would explain why everything had been silent since the genjutsu was activated. He searched the sky in the direction of the explosion and saw a shadow approaching. "Hey, everyone! Look over there!"

When they saw it, surprise overtook many of them. Naruto was squinting his eyes to get a glimpse of the 'summon.' When he saw it, his eyes widened and a huge grin crept into his face. He anxiously ran towards it.

"Naruto! What are you doing?" Shikamaru tried to stop him by blocking his path. He noticed Naruto's grin. "Why are you smiling?"

"You'll see!" he gestured for Shikamaru to follow.

Kiba frowned when he saw them leave. '_What are they trying to do? Get themselves killed?_' On his head, Akamaru sniffed the air and whispered something to him. "Really? They're here? Wow! Cool!" It never occurred to him that he ought to have shared his newfound information with everyone else.

Gaara heard something below and commanded the sand to stop. Out of nowhere, Naruto's face, followed by the rest of him, popped out of the tree tops and tried to reach the sand.

"Hey. Gaarraaaaa!" He fumbled as he slipped and fell back down. Luckily, Gaara sent a hand of sand to retrieve him before he fell.

"What about me? What ? I'm not worth your time? Troublesome."

Temari rolled her eyes as she recognized the voice. When Gaara finished landing him, she rushed up and grabbed his collar. "What were you trying to do? Kill us! I know that only you could make such a detailed ambush!"

"Yeah. And I forgot to cover the part. I didn't take the flight situation into account." Shikamaru grinned lazily.

"I swear! You are trying to kill us!" Temari shook him until she was sure he was dizzy.

"Stop that, woman! How troublesome. You swear?" Shikamaru couldn't help but anger her further.

Temari clutched her fan and was about to pull it out when Gaara stopped her. He turned to Naruto. "Why were there so many traps?"

Shikamaru stepped in. "I'll answer this one Naruto. You see, we were afraid that we would be attacked by the sound nin because one of our own killed a team of them, so we set traps. The area around our campsite was divided into three thirds and each of our cell teams made their own ambush. What was unexpected was that someone else would come along, and you were the unfortunate ones who walked into my cell's trap, which by the way, none of you , would have escaped from."

"None of us?" Gaara stared at him.

"None. Not even you. You see, one of the members of my cell specializes in fire, and a whole area at the midpoint, had you reached it, was rigged with fire tags. As soon as you step foot in ti, a barrage of very hot fire would have appeared and turned your sand into glass. There's no way you could survive with only sand."

"Hn." Gaara crossed his arms and had his sand continue.

"Hey, who are these people?" Nakuno and Fuu walked forward. Baki sat, uninterested, on the sand.

"This," Temari pointed to Shikamaru, "is Konoha's most laziest ninja, and probably the laziest ninja in all the five countries, Shikamaru. The one over there is Naruto. He's probably the loudest ninja in Konoha."

"Hey!" Naruto protested. "I am not LOUD!"

"Ouch, you're right." Fuu stared the two down. "Now, which one of you made that genjutsu?"

"That would be Senshu, the fire specialist I was telling you about. He thought it would be humorous to scare a few people." Shikamaru sat down.

"First, I'm going to kill him for scaring me. Them I'm going to make him teach me. That is a great genjutsu! My sensei will be so scared!"

"Oh no! Not again!" Nakuno yelled at her. "Last time, sensei made us run an extra one hundred laps around Suna! You're not pulling another prank on her!"

"We're here." Gaara's statement interrupted everyone.

Below them, everyone except those who hadn't met the sand team before dropped their guard as they saw the sand.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Ikioi called to Neji, Shino, and Tenten as they walked away. He looked up and saw the sand closing in on him before he too ran away.

Naruto jumped off the cloud. "Hey guys! It's the sand team! And guess what! They killed off almost everyone from sound for us!"

Fuu rushed down. "Which one of you is called Senshu!" He raised his hand, and she rushed over. "How dare you use..."

Kiba ran over and counted the members and realized something was missing. A lightbulb soon clicked in his mind. "Hey! Where's the big weird dude that uses dolls? Kankuro?"

Temari groaned at the mention of Kankuro's name. "Well, he couldn't come because you see...

_The temporary Kazekage surveyed the two genin cells. "I want to make it fair and have two members from each cell-"_

_Gaara glared at the Kazekage. "All three of us are going." He meant Kankuro, Temari, and himself. _

"_But-"_

_Gaara glared._

"_Very well, whatever." The Kazekage sighed. "Then Fuu, why don't you join them. I can use a break from your pranks."_

_When they left the Kazekage's office, Kankuro laughed aloud. "Man! I thought I'd be cut for sure!" He turned to Temari. "Hey, want to train a bit?"_

"_Sure, whatever."_

_Fuu appeared. "Kankuro, didn't you tell me to-"_

"_Later."_

"_But Karasu-" _

"_I said tell me later."_

"_Alright, but if anything happens, it's not my fault." _

"_Hah! What could happen?"_

'Well, for one, he doesn't even have Karasu. My fathere left him a marionette that is under testing to make repairs on Karasu, so anything he does will have a different effect._' She took out a scroll with Karasu inside. '_I should go see._' _

_Temari took out her fan and aimed it at Kankuro. "Kamaitachi!"_

_Kankuro pulled at one of 'Karasu's' strings to have it move right and dodge. Instead, the head shot backwards and hit Kankuro's shin, shattering it. As if things couldn't get worse for Kankuro, Temari's attack came directly after it and hit him dead on. _

"_Kankuro!" Temari rushed over to him._

_Fuu walked over and clicked her tongue. "He should have listened to me!" She threw Karasu's scroll at him._

and that's what happened." Temari finished. "He deserved it if he couldn't even tell his weapon apart from a fake one. We had to leave the next day and there was no way he could have healed that fast, sop we got Nakuno instead."

Hane leaned her back against a tree, facing away from where everyone was gathered. _'Idiots. Haven't they realized that they're going to be fighting each other in the exams? There's no reason to get acquainted. Even my stupid brother has forgotten_.' She felt a presence besides her and looked up. The red haired sand nin was standing in front of her.

"You have one too." He accused her.

She narrowed her eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about, and if you don't mind, you're invading my space." She wasn't the least bit intimidated by the glare he sent her. "If you're going to glare, glare at someone who cares, freak."

Gaara angrily left before he crushed her with his sand. No one had ever said that to his face before.

The next morning, the leaf and sand team decided to head towards Lightning Country together. They reached it in about two days and then walked to the Hidden Cloud Village. As they neared their destination, they noticed the trees begin to thin and become replaced by boulders. A few hours into their traveling, a light shower came and went. At last, they arrived. A long row of pine trees stood tall, like an edifice of buildings.

They entered after presenting their passports to the guards. Soon a small bundle hurled itself onto Shikamaru. It turned out to be a small girl around nine years of age.

"How troublesome."

"Sorry! I was trying to sharpen my senses by blindfolding myself." She apologized.

As she took off the black cloth around her eyes, they all gasped. The ebony material fell to reveal a pair of creamy white eyes.

* * *

Original Jutsus:

1) **Hijinsei - Living Fire - **A stream of extremely hot fire sealed into a scroll. When summoned, it flies out the direction the scroll is facing.

2) **Hinote no jutsu - Fire Blaze Technique - **A ball of fire appears in each palm of the user. The user then points the ball to a desired person or object and the fire will transfer to the interior of the person/object and which then will be engulfed in a blaze of fire. The fire itself bursts out from the surface of the person/object.

3) **Hekitei no jutsu - Air Burst Technique **- Exactly as the name suggest, the technique creates explosions in the air directly in front of the person that uses it.

A/N: Agh! I kept getting writers block in this chapter. I had to stop in the middle of writing it for over a week before I could pick up my pencil again. Anyway, does anyone know how to spell Neji's 64 palms of hakke attack and Tenten's rising twin dragon correctly? It would help a lot when I finally get the chuunin exams started! Thanks for reading & bye!


	3. Revelations

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto whatsoever, except for my fictions.

"Speaking"

'_Thinking_'

**Demon talking**

_Flashback_

Bloodlines and Demons

by chairomori

Chapter Three: Revelations

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_As she took off the black cloth around her eyes, they all gasped. The ebony material fell to reveal a pair of creamy white eyes._

"I-it can't be!" A myriad of expressions made its way to Neji's usually calm face. Shock, confusion, anger. How could this happen? This child could not be a Hyuuga. His father's sacrifice couldn't have been in vain. He clenched his fists tightly, not noticing the pain as his fingers dug into his palm.

Opposite of where he stood, Uwayaku experienced the same stream of emotions as Neji had. "Who are you? What's your name?" he demanded.

The girl stood, oblivious to the shocked crowd in front of her. As she was a head shorter that the genin, she tilted her head up and stared at them. "Why are you staring at me?"

The group fell over. Gai rose and dusted himself off. "Well, we were looking at your eyes. You see, they're very unusual, and only a certain clan has them. May I ask where you obtained them?"

"Oh, you're from Konohagakure!" she cried out, ignoring yet another query. "The Raikage sent me here to welcome the other genin participating in the chuunin exams. I got kind of tired of waiting so I started training. Sorry." Unconsciously, her had flew up to scratch her head in embarrassment as she grinned sheepishly. "Well, I'll show you guys to the hotel now. All the foreign shinobi will be staying there. Follow me!" Optimistically, she waved to the guards and sprinted off, leaving the dumbfounded shinobi of Konoha and Suna to follow.

Seemingly ignorant of the stares thrown at her, she continued to rant her introductions to the group when she was sure they had caught up. "Like I said, I'm supposed to get you guys settled in your rooms. Unfortunately, you'll have to share since your teams are a little late. In fact, the only teams that haven't arrived yet are the ones from Sound. If you ask me, they shouldn't even be allowed to participate afer the stunt they pulled in the last exams. I mean, what if they try it again? Don't you agree?" she didn't wait for their reply before continuing, causing a few sweat drops to appear on them. "Back to the rooming-all remaining participants will have to be divided three or four to a room. Any non-participants here to oversee the genin teams will be transferred to a different wing, the Lightning Wing. I suppose they get a spacier room and don't have to share. The Thunder Wing is where the others will stay.

"There're still a few more days left before the exams begin so you can use your time to familiarize yourselves with the area. On the day of the exams, an escort will take you to the arena," at this point, they could make out a veil of thick, morbidly gray fog ahead. "Anyway–I really shouldn't be telling you this–I heard that the examiners are making this test as hard as possible. They're going to have several stages withing stages to slowly root out the weaker genin. It's going to be so exciting!"

"From the sound of it, you will be participating as well?" Kakashi asked. "You seem a bit young."

"Uh huh. But I'm supposed to be a special case. Raikage said he wanted me to make my appearance at home so 'nothing rash might happen.' Besides, I've been a genin for a year already now so I can take it on!"

"Yes! That is the spirit! The springtime of youth shall bud beautifully in you!" Gai punched his fist into the air energetically.

"Um, Gai-sensei? I don't think this is the time for such antics," Seirei whispered as she pointed at the two Hyuuga who seemed to be at the point of bursting with unasked questions.

Gai nodded. "However, it would also so them good to lighten the mood a bit until we can safely discuss this. Remember that we do not want to start trouble. Especially in _their_ territory." She nodded in compliance.

When the group finally reached the barrier, the girl stopped. "And this," she pointed, "is genjutsu. It's operating day and night by our shinobi. Those who don't have the Hidden Cloud hitai-ate or aren't led by one with it can't enter into the main part of our village. They'll pass through to the other side. The area that you just passed through is usually used as training grounds to practice any potentially destructive jutsu. Now, if you'll just step through after me. . ." Her voice faded off as she walked on.

The four groups filed after her, some with hesitance, sone with contempt, others with curiosity. A tingling coolness brushed them as they walked through. Then, it abruptly stopped and before them lay a multitude of oddly shaped buildings which surrounded the foot of a flat but slightly elevated mountain.

After they'd all passed the barrier, the girl gestured for them to follow her. I'll show you to your lodgings; afterwards, someone will give you a tour of places you might need to know, like the hospital of the restaurants."

The rest of the journey passed in relative silence. It was uncanny how the girl suddenly quieted after entering the village. The genin, chuunin, and jounin fell to observing the various buildings they passed. They were indeed strange, mostly consisting of upside down parabolic shapes, ovals, and half-spheres, and seemed to be make of an unusual tawny color. Soon, they found themselves moving toward a large building the shape of an upside down 'V.' Following the girl into the lobby, they saw the interior of the structure greatly contrasted the outside. At their feet lay an expensive-looking set of tiles scrawled in strange designs, while the furniture was made of the finest marble and leather.

Kakashi sighed inwardly. The Cloud had always flaunted its money by furnishing itself with high-grade finery, but for the exams, this was going a bit too far.

A slightly chubby, middle aged man approached them and introduced himself as their guide. When the girl turned to leave, Kakashi stopped her. "Wait. You've been so helpful, we'd like to know your name. . . and drop in a good word."

She turned to his quizzically, as if doubting his reason. Then, she shrugged and answered, "Hyuuga Sukai," before turning to exit.

Neji's heart plummeted. From the moment he saw the Byakugan on the girl, he tried to reason that is was a coincidence. That the trademark eyes were due to some disease or accident. It was a pitiful explanation, but it was the only way to hold his emotions in place. But now, there was no excuse. Somehow, the cloud had gained the Byakugan and even openly shoved that fact into their faces. _Hyuuga _Sukai. This girl couldn't be a Hyuuga. There was no possible way. His inner turmoil went unseen by the others as he somehow kept his facade of indifference in check. _'Father_.'

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After checking into their rooms, their guide offered to give the tour. The two jounin politely refused, as they'd already been to lightning country before. Others were too lazy to take the tour, figuring that they'd find everything on their own. In the end, only Shikamaru, Seirei, Naruto, Sasuke, Tenten, Kiba, Shino, Lee, and Ikioi went on the tour. Being from another village, the Sand team received a different guide.

When the large group left, Gai and Kakashi were left in one of the many halls of the Lightning Wing, the west side of the building. The two entered Kakashi's room with solemn expressions.

"_So, how exactly did the Hidden Cloud come upon a Hyuuga?" Kakashi casually asked the guide once Sukai had left. Although his voice held no malice, the sarcasm was evident._

"_Wouldn't you like to know?" The guide sneered. In appeared they would receive no answer, but he suddenly continued again. "That was a clever trick you Konoha nin pulled on us. We were shocked all right, when the head of that bastard Hyuuga held no trace of the Byakugan." He smirked when Neji's expression contorted with anger. "You must have thought you were very clever, eliminating the precious bloodline. You must have thought you'd won, hadn't you?" He began to taunt. "But you failed to realize that even if all traces of the ability is eliminated, the blood is still there! We managed to drain enough blood from the corpse to transfuse it into a developing fetus. And you have seen the result! A success! Even though we only had enough to create one Byakugan user, the child will eventually grow and reproduce, soon giving us more, until eventually, we will have a whole clan! So you see, despite your attempts, we still won"_

"So, where do we go from here?" Gai pondered. "With the genjutsu around this village, we won't be able to enter if we venture out. They'll be suspicious is they find us wandering outside."

"I will report the occurrences to the Hokage using my nin dogs. We'll act upon her judgement," Kakashi answered.

Gai slammed his fist on the wall angrily. "But to think they would go so far with this mockery. Naming that creation after our clan, then sending it to greet us upon entering."

Kakashi sighed grimly. "There's nothing we can do but control our subordinates and wait."

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"And inside the base of the mountain is where the Raikage resides, as well as where our missions are filed. Now, this was created since the times of. . ." droned the guide.

'_Blah, blah, blah_,' thought Naruto as he yawned. How could any one guy be so boring and know so much useless history? '_He must fight by talking his opposition to death_,' he mused. Discretely, he inched away from the group. Upon discovery, he ignored Seirei's frown of disapproval and hastily fled before the guide could protest.

Seeing Naruto's escape, Kiba dragged Shino along to explore the village in a more 'interesting' fashion. Sasuke had also had enough and walked off in another direction, while Tenten cast her eyes upon a weapons shop. Only a bored Shikamaru, interested Seirei, and enthusiastic, but sleepy Lee were left to hear the remains of the insulted guide's lecture. Indignantly, he huffed on.

"Now we have the Great Fountain featuring the past and present Raikage. As you can see, their faces adorn the sides of the fountain which is made from only the purest. . ."

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As he ran around the village, Naruto suddenly found himself nearing collision with a half-masked blue-haired boy who was also running. He sidestepped at the last minute to avoid the crash.

"Hey! Watch it!" He yelled at the boy. His gaze fell on the hitai-ate tied on the boy's head which faced sideways and held the insignia of the Cloud. '_Uh oh. I'm not supposed to make trouble with them_.'

The boy glared at him. "You watch it. I knew Konoha ninja were sentimental fools, but I didn't realize they were blind idiots as well," he sneered coolly.

Naruto trembled with anger as he left. He snapped when the boy purposely pushed past his shoulder. "Hey, who do you think you are?"

"Who do you think _you_ are? Don't forget, this is my home, not yours," he reminded as he continued on.

Infuriated, Naruto followed him only to find he had vanished. He scowled and resolved to go back to the hotel, figuring he'd had enough of the place, only to discover he was lost. '_Aw, man_.' He jumped up onto a building to find his way back from above, when his eye caught the boy that insulted him earlier, traveling with someone cloaked in black. Forgetting his earlier decision, he followed them from behind. When the pair stopped on a wide rooftop, he saw five others on it as well, including the girl, Hyuuga Sakai. Realizing he was outnumbered if he opposed them, he instead hid on an outside stairway leading to the rooftop while observing the events that unfolded.

A man fro the group of five, presumably the jounin of the group, judging by his attire, ventured toward the cloaked man and bowed. Naruto strained to hear what they were saying.

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"Ruko-sama, it is an honor to be in your presence," Kafun bowed deeply. "Is there something you need?"

"Actually. . .there is," he drawled slowly. "My subordinate. . .I am sure you know who. . .or very well what he is. . .will be taking the chuunin exams. The first exam will begin soon. . .and I have found your team. . .suitable. . .enough for my standards."

Kafun could see a slight grin through the hood of Ruko's cloak. His blood ran cold as he began to register his superior's words. "I-I don't seem to understand what you mean." Hastily he added, "Of course, it is gracious of you to regard my team so highly." The four who stood behind him looked at each other in curiosity.

Ruko grinned, but his laughter contained no hint of mirth. He began to proceed at a faster pace. "Forgive me. I should have explained my reason for coming here. As you know, Shimaru," he gestured at the blue-haired boy, "is my only subordinate, and I think he _must_ take the chuunin exams this time around, so I thought, why not give him to your team? The best genin team in Kumogakure."

"I'm honored of your praise; however, we already have a full team. I'm sure the Raikage can make some arrangements. . ." Kafun began to sweat profusely. In front of his stood the Raikage's brother–a man who could kill him in seconds.

"Oh, that's okay! I've already spoken with him. You just need to select one of your genin to desplace."

"But-"

"Hold it!" All eyes turned to another boy with neck-length black hair, held back with his hitai-ate. "Who do you think you are, just barging in and pushing Kafun-sensei around? All of us worked hard to get in so you should just wait your turn!"

"Toya!" The genin standing next to him reprimanded. "Don't you know who that guy is? He's my uncle–almost as strong as my father. He'll kill you!"

"Shut up Kumo. I don't care who he is. He can't walk in here and-mph!" Sukai put her had over his mouth before he said anything else.

"Please, he didn't mean it!" she said. Fear was evident in her blank eyes. She had seen the man before, and hadn't liked what had occurred. That day was etched in her mind as "The Slaughter."

The last member of the team stood cooly, leaning against the small protruding piece of building that existed as the doorway. He observed the so-called replacement through his long brown locks. '_There must be something special about him if he's going to replace one of us. After all, we were put together because of who we are, to become the top genin team._' His eyes skimmed his teammates briefly. '_Raikou Kumo, son of the Raikage. Ki Toya, top genin of our year. Hyuuga Sukai, container of a revered blood limit. And me, Kogane Yokou, prodigy of the Kogane clan. Now who are you? No matter, if you _are_ going to be on our team, we'll find out eventually_.'

Ruko chuckled. This time, it was filled with something. . .sinister. "Shimaru, I trust you know which one to replace?"

"Wait, what?" Kafun stumbled. '_No! Toya, you're so stupid!_' "Wait, I can just dismiss one of my students, there's no need to be rash."

"Oh, but I have my sights set, Kafun! And you know once that happens, it can't be diverted."

'_Yeah, like when you decided to take Shimaru for your "special training" as you called it_,' he closed his eyes and relented. There was no helping it now. He stepped aside.

Shimaru walked towards the other genin. "Let him go." Something in his voice commanded obedience. Sukai unclasped his mouth and Kumo released his hold on Toya's arms. "We will fight for your place."

Toya smirked, "Fine. Then, I've got this in the bag."

"Don't be overconfident. You don't know what he's capable of yet." Yokou spoke for the first time.

He gazed at him briefly and gave a quick nod. Beginning to focus, he gathered the situation. '_I can't use my Doton justu on this rooftop so that means I'm at a disadvantage. That leaves. . ._' Quickly, he began a string of seals. "Hana no arashi no jutsu." (Petal Storm Technique) he whispered. A wave of petals materialized and immediately headed towards the motionless genin. A hint of curiosity developed in the corner of his mind. Why was he just standing there? It quickly vanished when Shimaru began to form his own seals.

"Rai no Tate." (Lightning Shield) As the petals came within a two meter radius, a disturbing sound of twisted steel was heard. They all fluttered uselessly to the ground.

"A shield?" Toya glanced at his deformed petals and shuddered inwardly. He didn't want to end up like them. That meant taijutsu couldn't be used. Now he was at an even greater disadvantage. Instead, he waited to counter his opponent's next move.

Shimaru started another set of seals. As he completed them, the barrier faded. "Hekireki zenshin fuzui no jutsu." (Lightning Total Paralysis Technique) He ran toward Toya who dodged the outstretched hands, not liking the sound of 'paralysis.' Continuing to dodge, he thought he felt something scratching at his feet, but brushed it aside, focusing solely on evading Shimaru's hands. It proved to be disastrous when he tripped over something invisible. Shimaru looked indifferent as he grabbed on to Toya's neck with a hand, crackling of electricity. "You should have paid more attention. Then you might have noticed when I set the chakra strings. No matter now." Toya shut his eyes to anticipate pain, but instead found his body numb.

Kumo ran toward his uncle when he saw his teammate was unable to continue. "Please, Ruko-sama, he won, don't kill Toya! He's my best friend!"

"But I already said, I have my eyes set," Ruko smiled.

Kumo glared angrily. "If he dies, I'll tell my father. I'll make sure that guy will never make it past-" his threat was cut short when Ruko grasped his neck in a deadlock.

"Nephew or not, you will know your place or die. Understood? We have plenty of genin waitng to take your place on this team." His aura radiated with intense killer intent before he unceremoniously dropped the boy in a trembling heap.

Kumo could only watch the scene helplessly as he gasped for air. As one end, his sensei had given up long ago and didn't even watch the one-sided fight. Then he saw Sukai's expression of concern replaced with horror, and Yokou's usual uninterested face marred with fear. He turned his eyes toward their object of interest before Sukai's scream pierced the air. It was just in time to see Toya's disabled boy, now bleeding profusely from deep kunai wounds shoved through his vital organs, decapitated wit a swift stroke of a specialized kunai. Fear and rage mixed inside him at once. Without thinking, he rushed toward Shimaru, only to be knocked down. "Urgh. Yokou!"

"You're both idiots! You all need to start thinking or else all of you will be dead, just like him," he nodded toward their ex-teammate. "We need to get Sukai to calm down first, she's only nine." She laid against the door to the interior of the building, a trembling mass, unable to sway her eyes from the head that should have been connected to a body.

'_Only nine? I'm thirteen and I can't even handle the sight._' Kumo only nodded shakily and they headed toward their teammate.

"Well, now that _that's _decided, I'll leave you to get acquainted with your new team, Shimaru," Ruko said, much too happily for anyone's taste before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Shimaru sighed when he was the glares from his fellow genin and felt the fear radiating off them. Whatever. It's not like he wasn't used to it after he followed Ruko-sama's orders. He just wanted to get that kid's blood off him. It clung to his shirt and hands, and he could feel a few drops decoration his face. How he hated blood. He made his way toward the edge of the roof, when he spotted a glimpse of yellow.

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Naruto sat on the stairway and leaned his back against the wall, trembling. There had been no mercy. The black-haired kid must have had the most agonizing death. The one he'd bumped into earlier, Shimaru was his name, made sure of it. But what scared him most was the cloaked man. He had radiated with killer intent the entire time. It was as if he was pushing it toward the boy, urging him to use it.

"Hey, you're that idiot that bumped into me earlier." A body popped in front of him.

Naruto made to scream in surprise, but Shimaru covered his mouth with a blood covered hand. He could smell the sour putridness of it so close to his nose. He was about to protest this treatment, all-the while his heart pounded like mad, when the boy jerked his jacket with his other bloody hand and scaled the wall down. When they reached ground level he let Naruto go. Naruto stood tense, as he rubbed the blood off his mouth.

"Relax. I'm not going to kill you, like I did him." His eyes shifted as he spoke, as if expecting something to drop out. He looked at Naruto who stared in disbelief. "Well? Get lost!"

"Hey! What's your game? Naruto shouted.

Shimaru glared. "Are you always this loud? I'm trying not to get anyone's attention. Now go before I change my mind and decide to skewer you."

"Ha! I'm going, but don't think it's 'cuz I'm afraid of you, 'cuz I'm not!" Naruto made his way out the alley before he stopped and turned around.

'_What now?_' Shimaru muttered inwardly while quickly glancing about.

"By the way, I'm lost. Do you know the way to the hotel?" Naruto asked sheepishly.

Shimaru was caught off guard. To think that such idiots existed. "Find it yourself." Still, he was an interesting character, the blonde from Konoha. He turned away from the sulking boy. Now, to get this blood off him. . .

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Original Jutsu:

**Hana no arashi no jutsu - Petal Storm Technique -** Basically a bunch of flower petals made of steel that fly toward the opponent after appearing and cuts them up.

**Rai no Tate - Lightning Shield Technique - **A sphere of lightning that surrounds the user. It's roughly the diameter of the user's height.

**Hekireki zenshin fuzui no jutsu - Lightning Total Paralysis Technique -** There are actually two versions to this. The first was the one Shimaru used which lets him paralyze anything his hands touch. The second is more effective and will be seen later. The jutsu will spread out in a sphere and paralyze anything it touches.

A/N: Okay. I am extremely, really, really sorry for waiting about a year to update. My feeble excuse–I had a massive writer's block, unmerciful teachers, and too much on my mind. The fact that I was cut from the tennis team in the most unkind way and actually struggled in school for the first time was particularly devastating. sigh I've no idea whatsoever when Chapter Four will be out, but for those of you who are waiting, rest assured, the exams will begin next chapter! The main reason for the shortness of this chapter was because I wanted to wait 'till next to begin the exams. You'll be pleased to know I'll make it extra long to make up for the long wait. Also, for those of you whose heads are about to crack open with OC's, you'll be happy to know that this is it for the arc! Congrats, you made it through. Please drop a review about anything you've been pondering–style, content, type-o's, mistakes. Also, thanks to those who reviewed in the last chapter and to Shang for Neji's attack name.


	4. Forshadowings

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto whatsoever, except for my fictions.

"Speaking"

'_Thinking_'

**Demon talking**

_Flashback_

Bloodlines and Demons

by chairomori

Chapter Four: Foreshadowings

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"Naruto! Pay attention! The last thing we need is for you to gt lost _again_," Seirei berated as the Konoha genin were being given directions to the chuunin examination area. "And this time, if you're late, the entire team will be disqualified."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto dismissed her nagging.

"Don't 'yeah' me! I'm serious! If we're disqualified, not only will this entire trip have been a waste fore us, but we'll have to wait anther six months!" Behind her, Kiba snickered. She whirled around. "And you're just as bad!"

Senshu and Shikamaru glanced at each other. '_Troublesome_.' "Well, if you're all done arguing, can I continue?" the chuunin sighed as he waved his packet of information.

"Oh, right! Of course!" she readied herself to absorb the rest of the details.

"Actually, you know what? I just got a great idea. Why don't you do the rest?" Shikamaru shoved the papers into her hands and continued in a bored monotone. "I'm already chuunin so it doesn't really matter to me. And I'm not really itching to compete for anything. See ya."

"But, Hokage-sama assigned this to you! Shouldn't you care about fulfilling your mission to the best of your ability?"

"I really couldn't care less," he said as he left the doorway.

She clenched her fist and growled irascibly. "Naruto, Kiba, Senshu. . . you're going to sit here and listen or I'll cut you all to pieces!" Seirei pulled her katana out and pointed it at them menacingly.

"Aw. . ." Naruto groaned.

A few minutes into reading the flyer aloud, she looked up to see Senshu napping against the lobby wall of the hotel and Naruto and Kiba engaging in what seemed to be an intense staring contest. Her eyebrow twitched. "That's it!" she clenched the papers so hard they crumpled. "Meet me here tomorrow and we'll go as a team." The words made their way out through grinded teeth. With a 'hmpf,' she stormed out to find a quick rouge to the first exam's location alone.

Unbeknownst to her, Kiba, and Senshu, however, was the fact that Naruto had left long ago and had replaced himself with a Kage Bunshin. Currently, he was making his way toward his new find–Cloud's very own Icha Icha Ramen Paradise, which featured a grand total of five exotic flavors of ramen special to Kumogakure. It's owner happened to be a rather perverted man and _Icha Icha Paradise _fanatic. The fact that Naruto _knew _the author of his beloved series _and _provided as a valuable temporary source of income rapidly elevated his position into the man's favorite customer.

"Ah, Naruto, so you're taking the exams tomorrow, eh?" a wrinkled old man met him at the stand's entrance.

"Yup!" the addressee swung himself onto one of the stools eagerly. "I'm gonna blow everyone away! You just watch me Jii-san."

The man chuckled. "That's what most of the genin that come here say. What'll you have today, kid?"

"I'll start off with two bowls of your special spicy seafood combo ramen," he wasted no time in hesitation. "Hey, Jii-san, it sounds like you know a few things about the chuunin exams. You got any secret tips?"

"Heh. I'm not going to help you cheat, kid," he called from the stove, "but I do have a word of warning: Don't be too disappointed when you're knocked off. Cloud's famous for it's rigorous exams. Each stage is designed to test as many aspects as possible so the weak are weeded out first. Many countries prefer to wait the six months for Sand's exams instead of entering ours. 'Course, they're the ones who have more to lose. For example, I hear that Kirigakure hasn't sent a single team. Their excuse is internal affairs, but rumors say their numbers are low. Basically, they can't afford any deaths. Same with Sand. They only sent one team after suffering losses during the invasion five months ago."

"Bah," Naruto scoffed as he eagerly shoveled two newly-made bowls of ramen in his mouth after the man set them before him. After a few grandiose mouthfuls, he paused. "Don't underestimate me, Jii-san. I'm better than I look. Just watch, 'cuz one day, I'm gonna be Hokage! The best you've ever seen. No lousy exam's gonna stop me!" he scarfed the rest of the bowl down and started on the next one. "Can I have a miso next?"

The man shook his head as he prepared another bowl. "That's what they all say, kid. But, it doesn't look like I'll be around long enough to see if you're all talk or not."

"What? You're _that _old? How do you know you're going to be six feet under tomorrow?"

The man's pruny eyebrow twitched. "That's not what I meant, brat! I mean the Hokage-thing! Though from what I'm seeing now, you're too stupid to ever make it to Hokage."

"What d'you know? I'll become Hokage extra fast then. That way, I can laugh in your face! And I'll be sure to ban those nasty books from ever being written. Ero-sennin will have to listen to me once I'm Hokage," he spat out triumphantly.

"Little brat. You'll never be Hokage so I can sleep knowing that'll never happen." He pushed the bowl of Miso toward Naruto and patted a pouch in his apron. "Besides, you'll never be able to truly get rid of these babies!"

The blond looked repulsed. "You keep that in your apron? Is this ramen sanitary? You better not be tainting such a great invention with those dirty books!"

His insult was ignored, however, as the elder tired of teasing him and decided to shift topics. "Tch. Bratling. . . So, have you been scoping out the competition yet, kid?" he received a nod in reply. "What do you make of it?"

"Another miso," Naruto ransacked his brain for an answer. "Well, only a few people seem to be tough competition. The rest are all losers. Especially the Sound genin. The Sand team Managed to wipe out most of 'em before they even got here. Glad I wasn't there."

'_So that's what happened to them_,' the man processed. "You find anyone strong from around here? I hear one of our more promising teams is entering his year."

Naruto's face darkened. "Yeah. . . I think I found someone."

The owner looked up from the pot of ramen at his customer's sudden change in demeanor. The kid was always bubbly and boastful. What had he found to create such a rapid change?

"It was a boy I bumped into and sort of followed."

The man's attention was quickly alerted. "There are many boys here, kid. Be a little more descriptive," he swallowed a bolus of saliva.

"Well, he looked normal enough, I guess," Naruto began hesitantly. "He's pretty average, has navy blue hair and all that, but. . . I wasn't planning on telling anyone this but . . . when I followed him, I saw him kill off another genin from here so. . . I can't really describe it. Even the Sand, who are merciless don't have that attitude." He thought back to his first meetings with Gaara and the bloodlust he once exhibited and involuntarily shivered. "And then. . . it was weird, but afterwards when he found out I was following him, he was acting different. I dunno. How can someone be all cold and obnoxious, then emotionless, then so casual in such a short period of time? It's so weird!"

The man sighed, suddenly weary. "You sure have a penchant for trouble, don't you kid? The boy you met, did you see a cloaked older man with him?" he continued after another nod. "Then the boy is Shimaru. I didn't know he'd be taking the exams this year. I feel sorry for you kid."

"Huh? Why? Who is this Shimaru?" Naruto suddenly forgot about his ramen.

"You see kid, everyone here, chuunin down, knows never to be seen with the kid, because. . . anyone he sees interest in. . . that person's always the next one dead." Naruto sat rigid, as he remembered the mutilated body of the Cloud genin, Toya. "The cloaked man wasn't around when Shimaru saw you was he?"

Naruto snapped to attention. "No. I don't think so."

"Good. That's probably why you're hear now. Then it seems you have some chance of surviving." A curious expression from the customer urged him on. "You see, it's Ruko, the cloaked man, who gives the orders, and Shimaru who carries them out."

"But then, why does Shimaru follow this Ruko guy's orders? He seems pretty nasty to me!" he pouted in confusion.

"Not so loud kid!" the man hushed and made sure there was no one close enough in proximity to eavesdrop. "If one of Ruko's spies hears us talking about this stuff, it's sure to get us killed. I'm only warning you because I like you. Anyway, why follow orders you ask? Well, what can a simple genin do against a man like Ruko? Around here, he's probably the equivalent of your village's Orochimaru. In fact, some say they've been contacting each other."

"Someone as bad as Orochimaru. . . Is that even possible?" Naruto whispered uncertainly to himself.

"Kid. This is _real life_. Anything's possible. No matter how nasty of unfair it is." The man laughed bitterly.

"But, if this Ruko is so bad, why don't you or anyone else tell the Raikage to do something about it? The Raikage's the strongest here right?" he questioned.

"That's true, but no one's ever been able to. Anyone who plans to do that usually just disappears. No one's brave enough to even think about it now. Ruko is the Raikage's brother. The Raikage has complete trust in him and won't question what he does–not that he knows any of the things he's done. You say that we're being led by an ignorant, naive ruler being fed false information." Naruto was at a loss for words. "Speechless, huh? Well, you remember my warning kid. Stay way from Shimaru. . .Well, you want anything else?"

"No." Naruto wasn't hungry anymore. "Thanks Jii-san." He only had a few bowls of ramen but made sure to leave a large tip for the man's advice. The unsettling feeling remained in his stomach, even after he left.

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"_Your names mean 'flaming winged bow,' the hope of our people. You must find the arrow, the key, that will fit your bow and bring us our freedom."_

"_But Grandma, why can't anyone else do it? There're lotsa people besides us aren't there? Outside here?" a young voice chirped._

"_Nonsense! We will bear our burden alone an we will be liberated by our own power. You will not bring shame to our name by thinking such a thing. Where is your pride, child?"_

Weapons. . . Pride. . . Shame. . .

_**Six is the key.**_

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"Naruto, Kiba, Senshu. . . for the last time, wake up!" Seirei tried to pull the covers off the three boys but was far from strong enough. She glared at the bulky forms under the blankets.

"Go bother someone else. Everyone's probably still asleep anyway!" Kiba's annoyed voice drifted through a thick yellow cover. Beneath it, Akamaru whined in agreement.

"For your information, everyone in Gai-sensei's team was up two hours ago for a last minute warm-up," she retorted.

"That's 'cuz Gai's crazy!" the other two boys remained silent and unmoving.

"Ugh!" she stomped in frustration. "I've never seen anyone as difficult to manage as the boys on this team! Just get up or we'll be late!"

"It's six in the morning! We don't need to be wherever we're supposed to be for another three hours. Give us a break." She could make out Kiba's head force it's way under a pillow.

"Mpf, who let you in our room anyway?" asked Naruto.

"Just get up!" she yelled at them for what seemed to be the hundredth time. . . maybe it was.

"We'd like to, but you see, we went to bed start naked. If you insist though," Senshu insouciantly made to rise.

"Er, no! Wait! I'm leaving now!" she ran out the room and slammed the door behind her, face flushed crimson.

"Heh, good one Senshu," Kiba muttered sleepily.

"No prob. Used that one on my sis all the time when we were younger before she finally found out," his voice faded as he drifted back off to sleep. Naruto just ignored them completely as he struggled to catch up on his rest after a fitful night of nightmares.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Seirei found herself confronted by Hane. "My brother didn't use his lame 'I'm stark naked' excuse again did he?"

"Huh? Again?" Seirei's face darkened angrily in understanding. She turned around and slammed the boys' door open again, Hane dauntlessly following. The boys groaned irritably. Seirei began to scold them but halted at Hane's wave. She watched as the older girl went through a few seals and created a small fire ball on her hand. Hane walked over to each of the beds an allowed a minute piece of flame to hop onto the three lumps.

Senshu, used to his sister's tirades, quickly stated he was awake and, garbed in a baggy T-shirt and shorts, put out the slightly flaming blanket with his hand and dashed to the bathroom. Naruto and Kiba, however, weren't so fortunate. "Akamaru, do you smell smoke?" The small dog wriggled his way off the bed.

"Now that you mention it. . ." Naruto started. He and Kiba got up at once and saw the flames tickling the feet of their beds. "Fire!" They tossed their covers away and got up.

"Um, thanks, Hane," Seirei said.

"Don't thank me. I only did it because I needed to speak to Senshu." She turned and walked away. "Tell him I'm waiting."

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"Hey, hey! Let's stop by the Ramen Paradise stand for a few quick bowls. We can't take the exams on an empty stomach you know." Naruto suggested.

"I guess that's not such a bad idea. . ." his female teammate relented.

"You've got no idea what you're getting us into do you?" Kiba groaned. "We're gonna be stuck there all day now, forget about the exams."

"What'd you say, dog-breath?" Naruto retorted.

"Who're you calling dog-breath, dead-last?"

"Since I beat you, I guess you're worse than dead-last!" Akamaru barked in agreement.

"What? You little! You're not helping!" Kiba cut off his comeback after Naruto skipped off to the ramen stand and left the other three genin in his dust trail.

"He seems to remember the way here easily enough," Seirei commented. "Now why can't he remember anything else?"

Not waiting for his teammates, Naruto arrived at the ramen stand and found the stools empty like they had been the day before. The man didn't have many customers. He chose the middle one and called out to him. "Hey, Jii-san! I'm baaaaack!" Silence answered him. Ignoring the unsettling feeling that once again rose in his stomach, he called out again. "Jii-san? Come on! I'm hungry!" There was no snidely reply. Hesitantly, Naruto propelled himself over the counter. The old man's previous words haunting him. "Jii-san?" he whispered uncertainly.

Around the interior of the stand were stacked bowls and cookware still neatly lined up. It seemed like the old man had just opened; however, besides the open stand, there was no other sign of his presence.

Naruto was compelled to walk further into the stall, ignoring his teammate's calls for him. At the very end lay the door to the storeroom. Naruto slowly twisted the doorknob and creaked the door open. "Jii-san?" There was no one there either. He pushed the door open the rest of the way and entered, scanning the walls. Nothing but ingredients and supplies was seen. Sighing dejectedly, he turned and let out a cry of surprise. Turmoil tore at his chest.

"Jii-san!" To his horror, the elderly man hung on the back of the door, limp. His face was marred with shock and his eyes stared back at him emptily. A clean horizontal line of red dug into his neck and dribbled down in a slow manner.

Naruto's breath hitched in his throat before he finally noticed and forced himself to take in a short series of breaths. He edged closer to the body and shakily held up a finger under the man's nose. No breath. His head began to spin from vertigo. He forced himself to leave the room, flashes of thoughts running through his head. _'Equivalent of Orochimaru. . . sure to get us killed. . . anyone he sees interest in. . . that person's always the next one dead.' _He suddenly found himself able to breath again. The old man, _he _had gotten him killed. _He _had gotten him involved. Now, he was next. The very thought gave Naruto the impulse to run. To get as far away as possible. He followed it.

Unsuspiciously, he made his way out of the ramen stand and back onto one of Cloud's many roads, body tense and rigid. He whirled around, thinking he saw a blue blur, but found nothing. Every so often, he did this, the nervousness drawing suspicious stares. '_Get a grip on yourself, you're a shinobi!_' His mind screamed at him. But he couldn't help knowing he was next. Next.

"Naruto!" The shriek nearly caused him to jump in the air. A brief feeling of relief came when he realized it was only Seirei and the rest of his team. "Where have you been? I thought you wanted to go get some ramen. . . And what's wrong with you? You look a bit pale."

"I-I am?"

"She'd right," Senshu confirmed. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing. I mean yeah–er, no," he stumbled. _'Get a grip on yourself, Naruto! Since when have you let a little fear mess you up?' _His fist tightened in determination. _'I can't let them get involved in this mess. . . or they'll be on this guy's list too.'_ His mind mentally shuddered in remembrance of the man hanging on the door. He took a deep breath and forced himself to grin sheepishly. "I guess I'm just nervous about the exams."

Seirei nodded in understanding. "Yeah. We all are. Why don't we just go get some of that ramen and head over then?"

Naruto felt a pang in his heart as it threatened to leap out from his throat. Guilt nestled in his stomach for leaving the old man there.

"No! Er, the owner isn't there today. How about we go somewhere else?"

"You must be really nervous, Naruto. You're jumping all over the place," Kiba chided ignorantly.

"How about we just have a few snacks I brought?" Seirei gestured at a small pack next to her katana. "I was saving it in case we had another survival exam like the last one in the forest of death, but I suppose it won't hurt to break into it a bit." She handed each of them a small roll of sticky rice filled with mung beans and wrapped in banana leaves. "We can eat these as we walk."

Along the way, they ran into Kakashi's temporary cell and decided to travel together. They arrived at another bland-looking edifice with a fairly large sign stating that the stairs inside would lead to the basement.

"Alright, let's go!" Ikioi cheered enthusiastically and started to rush in.

"Not so fast!" Tenten shouted and roughly pulled his collar. "Byukugan-check, Neji."

"Right," after going through a few quick seals, he activated his Byakugan and scanned the building. "I see a lot of chakra floating around the building. It seems the indoor stairs lead not to the basement but upstairs to the second floor. There is a smaller staircase towards the side that leads downwards." The veins framing his eyes dissolved as he returned to normal vision.

"As we expected," Shino said as he adjusted is glasses.

"Whad'ya mean?" Kiba asked his old teammate.

"You see, we figured the proctors would try to pull another fast one on us like last time, so we decided to have Neji use the Byakugan against anything suspicious, and that sign was _really _suspicious," Tenten explained. "A ninja must look 'underneath the underneath.'"

"Aw, man. I can't believe we almost fell for that one," Kiba complained. Behind them, a group of Grass genin passed and made for the entry. "You think we should warn them?"

"Negative," Shino pointed out. "This genjutsu was designed to segregate the weaker genin from those of us who are more capable of surviving future stages. If we proceed in your plan, not only would we be aiding the enemy, we would also risk the chance of endangering their lives."

"Tch. Think you're so cool," Kiba muttered.

The group of eight followed Neji's lead until they reached a dimly lit staircase that led downward, at which point, he lessened his pace until he trailed the group alongside the only blonde there. "Naruto."

He looked up from his daze. "Huh?"

"You are troubled," the prodigy stated.

"It's nothing," Naruto sighed.

Neji frowned. "Very well then." He continued to walk at Naruto's pace. He wouldn't pursue the topic further if he wasn't ready.

Behind the doors of the basement, the genin found a much smaller number of teams than were at the previous exams. More experienced than before, the present remnants of the rookie nine followed the slightly elder genin to a few seat and waited for the exam to begin, instead of standing at the entrance. After a few more teams entered, Lee, Sasuke, Hane, and Uwayaku emerged, all but the former expressing negative countenances. Senshu waved his sister over, causing the entire group to follow.

"Why so late?" he asked.

She slumped down in a seat next to him before answering crossly. "That thick-brow freak of a sensei kept us waiting until after he preached some nonsense about 'the power of youth,'" she was sure to add a heavy sarcastic emphasis on the last few words. "What an idiot."

"Blasphemy!" Lee roared at her. "Never doubt Gai-sensei or the flames of youth! He is the greatest sensei in all the five great countries!" He wrapped up the charade with a determined fist pump in the air.

"Uh, Lee. You're kind of attracting a bit of unwanted attention," Tenten coughed. Her eyes shifted to a couple neighboring Sound teams that survived the attack on their comrades, giving Lee the hint. They were glaring at them. She scoffed. "Why don't they try to burn a hole in Sand's head instead? They're the ones that killed the other Sound genin, not us."

"True, but we and Sand are allies, not to mention their enemy," Neji stated. "However, these genin seem weak. I doubt they will advance to the final round."

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge if I were you," a cocky voice rose a from a few seats away, "because I doubt you'll even make it past the second round. Not with me around."

Neji narrowed his eyes at Uwayaku, who purposefully tapped his forehead. "Are you. . . challenging me?"

"No. I'd rather save it for a time where I can thoroughly wipe the floor with you without consequences. If there's anything left that is," he smirked arrogantly.

'_What a pompous loser_,' Tenten frowned in disapproval. '_If I get the chance,_ I'll _be showing him who wipes the floor with whom.'_

All other trash talk and thoughts were set aside after a woman and several chuunin burst through the doors. The chuunin lined up against both sides of the room while the woman kicked the doors shut and slid a bolt over them. She wore her blond hair in a low ponytail and a heavy amount of make-up. A few of the older male genin swooned as she walked past them. Any charm they saw in her quickly vanished, however, once she gazed at them coldly.

"It seems many of you have passed the preliminary test and found your way here. That won't do. Instructions for part one of the first phase will begin as soon as you are in the proper seating arrangements. Head to one of the chuunin for your seats," she wasted no time in small talk. "Oh, and, you can call me Yugido. I'll be your proctor during this phase." She grinned coldly.

As Naruto lined up withe the others, he caught a glimpse of blue hair and shivered. _'Anyone but him. Anyone but him_.' He mentally chanted. He got his assigned seat, row B number 26, and went to his seat. _'Please, please, please, anyone but him.'_ He sat down and sighed when he saw a rain shinobi on his left. So far, the right seat was vacant. He shut his eyes tightly and continued chanting in his head. '_Please, please. . .'_ A scraping of a chair alerted him that seat B-27 was now occupied. He cracked his eyes open and traced the bottom of the figure up to the face. "You!" he pointed.

"Is there. . . something wrong?" It was Gaara, laconic self and all, staring dully back at Naruto. '_That settles it. I'm surrounded by the paranoid.' _

"Nope," Naruto grinned in relief. _'Close one!'_

"Wow. And I thought you were weird yesterday. Do you always greet people by yelling?" A voice came from behind him.

Naruto froze and slowly turned to face the owner of the voice. _'Oh sh-'_ Yes. It was him in all his glory, complete with the mask. He let out a slight 'Eep' causing Gaara to lift a nonexistent eyebrow.

"See what I mean? Always so dramatic. I'm not _that _intimidating am I?" Shimaru smirked behind the mask.

"Hah! I'm not scared of you!" Naruto pointed a steady finger at him while his legs trembled in his seat.

"Naruto. . ." Gaara started.

He turned. "Wha-" A chalkboard eraser came flying at him and whacked the side of his head, sending snickers across the room. "-oh."

"You with the blonde hair! Shut up!" the proctor shouted.

"Aw man," Naruto muttered to himself, embarrassed.

'_I don't know him_,' his teammates thought in unison.

'_So, your name is Naruto, huh?_' Shimaru stored the thought for later use.

"Alright. Listen up because I'll only say this once! Part one consists of a five question exam. You must answer at least one question correctly or your entire team fails. Also, no cheating will be tolerated. If we see anyone using any jutsu or bloodlimits even once, the entire team will be disqualified. This test is to measure your intelligence and nothing else. You'll need brains to make it to chuunin." She allowed a slight pause for the papers to be passed out. "I expect complete silence. No questions or breaks will be permitted. You have twenty minutes. Begin!"

Naruto stared at his test. Truth be told, it didn't look that bad. The five questions were far simpler than Ibiki's, testing knowledge on geography or basic regulations. But. . . he couldn't concentrate. He felt self-conscious, knowing Shimaru, who had probably killed the ramen owner was behind him. His skin tingled with insecurity. '_Calm down, Naruto,_' he told himself. _'Try to focus on the first question. . .'_

Neji glared at his exam sheet as if trying to burn a hole in it. Gripping his pencil tightly, he pressed its tip hard onto the paper and began to answer the questions, angrily leaving dark chicken scratches on the paper. '_Stupid_ _Uwayaku. Stupid main branch. . . except for Hinata-sama. Stupid curse seal. Stupid proctor. Stupid exam. Stupid. . .'_ He stopped his mental rant of self-pity when he noticed some of his illegible writing make even lesser sense. Curious, he wrote the kanji for 'five' on the corner, and after a few moments of waiting, saw it had shifted into the character for 'four.' He began to activate he Byakugan, when he remembered it wasn't allowed. He returned to mental angst. '_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. . .'_

Meanwhile, Naruto released a sigh of relief at his completed exam. Unfortunately, it was only slightly more legible that Neji's due to trying to write with a trembling hand. He felt like every move he made was being observed and recorded. Maybe it was paranoia. Maybe it wasn't. Trying to shift his mind from his unease, he glanced to see if Gaara had finished. '_What the. . .? His exam is blank! Could it be. . . aw man!' _He'd fallen for both of the examiner's tricks, he'd realized. Using a bit of chakra he sent from his hand to the paper, he managed to dispel whatever genjutsu was around it, making it bland like Gaara's.

His Sand neighbor glanced at him from the corner of his eye. _'He just figured it out. . . How did he ever beat me?' _He pitied himself a bit more. '_Yes,' _he repeated in his head, _'I'm surrounded by paranoid, unintelligent, insane people. . . I will conclude my theory that I am the only sane person here after a few more observations.'_

**You are so not sane brat! You want blood! **Shukaku protested.

'_And all of my slightly dysfunctional thoughts and actions are due to Shukaku's influence_,' he made a scapegoat of Shukaku.

**You've got to be kidding brat!**

'_No, I'm not. I am dead-serious, perfectly sane, and self-controlled.'_

**. . . You just keep telling yourself that.**

Naruto wondered what Gaara was thinking about as he watched him stare off into space. Whatever it was, it seemed intense. He looked at a clock in the corner and saw there were only a few minutes left.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the room, a bug was busily scurrying across the floor and onto a table inconspicuously. It finally stopped when it reached its destination, an exam paper, and began releasing all it's chakra into it.

Ikioi opened his eyes just in time to notice it. '_Hey!_' He tried to blow it off the exam, but it wouldn't budge. He raised his index finger and thumb to flick it off when he realized his completed exam had just turned blank. '_Huh?_' Wearily, the bug flew to the floor and crawled off towards Shino, leaving the perplexed boy. '_I don't get it. . .'_

"Put your pencils down, twenty minute have passed." Yugido ordered. Her eyes quickly scanned the papers on the genin's desks before calling out a few numbers. "Everyone I've just called failed! Report your name to one of the chuunin and leave."

There were cries of protest. A random rain ninja yelled at her angrily. "But I know I answered every question correctly! You can't do this!"

She glared at him coldly. "Are you questioning my authority?" she asked dangerously. A frightened shake of his head followed. "Good. Now hurry up and get our. I'm feeling impatient today." Afer they left, she faced the remaining genin. "Congratulations. You passed part one of the first phase by realizing there was a genjutsu that distorted the information you placed on your exam. As a chuunin, while on scouting or reconnaissance missions you must keep in mind that bringing back nothing is better than bringing back specious information."

"Ha ha! I _so _knew that!" Naruto grinned aloud. He had a reputation to maintain.

"You! Shut up again before I disqualify you and your team!"

"Yeesh, she needs to lighten up," he whispered to Gaara.

The sand-nin gave him a look that said, 'Please do me a favor and don't speak to me in public,' causing him to pout.

"Now, the second half of the exam will consist of a group decision. You have exactly two minutes to meet with your teams before I give you the second half. Take your exam papers with you and start moving!" Yugido yelled.

There was a scuffling of chairs as a slightly reduced number of genin gathered into their four man cells. Then, they looked to their proctor for further instructions.

Sure they were ready, Yugido began. "As a chuunin, you will be given many dangerous missions and it is your duty to fulfill them to the best of your capabilities. On some of these missions, sacrifices must be made to complete the objective. This second part will determine your ability to handle yourselves in the event that such circumstances will occur. To move onto the second phase of the exam, you are to drop one person from your team." Surprise rang around the room. She waited for it to calm before continuing. "That's not all. Flip your exam papers over and you will see a colored dot on the back. Red stands for the leader of the group, black for the injured, yellow for those depleted of chakra, and green for those still able to fight."

Naruto did as instructed and found a red dot. He looked at the others and saw Seirei had a yellow, Kiba had a black, and Senshu had a green.

"You see, you are to pretend that each of your cells have been sent on a dangerous mission to collect data on your enemy's position. On your way, you encounter an A-ranked shinobi blocking your path, not allowing you to move forward or backward. The only way to move is to sacrifice a member of your team while the others escape. You are to write a brief essay on who your team will drop and why. The remaining three on the team will pass or fail depending of the quality of their answer." She paused a bit in thought. "Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that since in such a situation, your teammate will most likely die, whoever your team sacrifices will never be able to advance to the chuunin level."

"What? That's bull! You're as bad as that last examiner in the Leaf!" shouted an older genin.

To everyone's surprise, the examiner laughed. "You won't be getting any higher mark by complimenting me. If you have any complaints, write it down on your essay, because I don't want to hear it, or it you want, you can give your number to the chuunin and leave, then try to become a chuunin again during the next exams. Other than that, you have fifteen minutes to discuss this with your team. Take in mind that in a real life scenario, you would have even less. Once you are finished, form a line and give your essays to me. I'll be grading them on the spot. Alright, time begins now!"

Immediately, the sound of disagreement rose as the teams began to argue amongst themselves.

"I don't like this," Kiba muttered.

"Yeah, how do they expect us to drop one of our own?" Seirei said.

Senshu sighed. "Let's just concentrate on the 'status' first. Kiba's injured. Seirei, you're out of chakra. So basically, in this situation, it would probably Naruto or myself who'd stay behind. I don't really care about this exam, but you should know my sis by now. She'd kill me if I dropped."

Naruto clenched his fist tightly. _'This isn't right. . . it's just like the last exam, but which direction are we supposed to choose? In a real situation, if we sacrificed a member, we could move forward, but at the cost of our comrade's life? No way!' _He faced his teammates in determination. "No way. . . As leader, there's no way I'm going to sacrifice any of up," he whispered to them, as if telling it to himself. His eyes hardened. "Not a chance."

"But, Naruto, the rules say-" Seirei started.

"Forget what the rules say! Kakashi-sensei always said that 'those who don't follow the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends, are worse than trash.' All of us are getting through this or we all fail together!" At the confidant nods of his teammates, he began scrawling something on his exam sheet.

A few meters away, Gaara was writing something else on his sheet without consulting the others. Fuu leaned over to read it and sweatdropped.

Meanwhile, Shino, 'leader' of his cell was taking the move tactical approach. "If we were to truly expel one member, I would be tempted to recommend Ikioi for attempting to harm my kikai bug." This earned him a horrified 'what!' from his teammate and nods of approval from Tenten. "However, we agreed earlier to display extra precaution in the midst of these exams; therefore, as leader, I suggest we use out limited time to exam possible alternative motives before creating out final decision."

Neji, Tenten, and Ikioi nodded in agreement.

Team Gai wasn't faring as well however. . .

"No, you!" Uwayaku snarled at Sasuke who glared back.

"I say we just get rid of both of you," Hane sniffed. "You're both as useless as the other."

"Why don't we get rid of you?" Sasuke scoffed.

"Enough!" Lee shouted. "I am leader so you must listen to me!"

Uwayaku turned to him. "I have a better idea! Since you're leader, be noble and sacrifice yourself for the rest of the team. We'd all be happy to get rid of you!"

Sasuke and Hane agreed, causing Lee to become dejected for a few moments. "No! I shall not give in! The flames of youth that burns brightly within me will never allow me to fail. Yosh!"

"Deal with it, Lee! We all picked you, three to one," Sasuke said.

"Never!" Lee yelled almost hysterically. "I will never submit to this. I will go on!" In large letters, he hastily wrote the sentences in lightning speed before they could stop him and ran toward the instructor speedily, handing her the paper.

She took it without looking and instead gazed at the clock. "Aright everyone, it's about fifteen minutes now. If you haven't turned in your essay, then you fail. Meanwhile, I'll tell you which teams passed of failed after examining them." She smirked at them tense in anticipation, then looked at the paper she just received.

'NO ONE CAN EVER PUT OUT THE FLAMES OF YOUTH! THEY SHALL FOREVER BURN BRIGHTLY WITHIN US! YOSH! WE SHALL ALL RISE TO VICTORY!'

Yugido suppressed her eye from twitching. "Aguni Hane, Hyuuga Uwayaku, Rock Lee, and Uchiha Sasuke of Konoha," she called.

"Oh! That's us! That's us!" Lee waved his hands wildly.

"I can see that," she grumbled. "Pass."

"Whoo hoo!" Lee grinned

'_I can't believed they accepted that lame answer,' _Sasuke thought. _'I guess it's another one of those dumb teamwork exams.'_

Yugido skimmed through the other papers.

'Minako, because she'd weak. . .' "Fail."

'As leader, I'd valiantly sacrifice. . .' "Fail."

'If you don't pass all of us, I'll squish you.' ". . ." She looked up from the paper to the sand team and met Gaara's eyes, as if interlocking them in a staring competition while giving him a 'don't-mess-with-me' glare. "Pass."

She went through a few more before she landed on. . .

'We'll force our way in if it's the last thing we do! Don't think you scare us, you old hag! We're gonna be chuunin whether you like it or not!'

This time, her eye did twitch. Was _she _ever this weird and rude as a genin? She pitied their jounin instructors. "Which one of you four wrote this?" She queried.

"Me!" Naruto raised his hand proudly.

'_Figures_.' She glared at him. "Do I look old to you?. . . No? Good. Call me an 'old hag' again and not only will I disqualify you, I'll personally kick you from here back to Konoha. . . Pass."

"Yeah! What'd I tell you guys?" he yelled at his teammates.

"Not so loud, Naruto. You're hurting Akamaru's and my ears!" Kiba complained.

After completing the grading, Yugido watched the remaining genin chatter excitedly amongst themselves. _'Only eleven teams remain.' _She quickly called for their attention. "Well, since you passed, I assume you understand what we were looking for. Loyalty and faith. In times of war or depression, there are many shinobi who desert their villages and comrades. In Kumogakure, we are attempting to keep this number to a minimum, but I doubt you'll want to know all the details. They're boring."

"Yugido-san!" One of the chuunin reprimanded.

"What? We're running a bit late," she looked at the clock. "Anyway, congratulations. The next exam will begin when the next examiner arrives which should be. . ." The longer hand ticked to twelve, "now."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Well there's chapter four, hoped you liked. It's going to be my last chapter before school begins tomorrow! Still haven't memorized my science tables yet. . . uh oh. I don't know when chapter five will be out. The end was kind of sucky because I really rushed to get this chapter out before I'm filled to the neck with school work. And I got the exam idea from the rescue Sasuke arc, where the genin split up and got the ---- beat out of them. Also, sorry if Naruto's attitude seemed kind or weird. I was trying to depict what most people would do if they were to be face-to-face with death.

Oh yes, I also have one thing to say about flames. If you're going to do it, I mention this in my profile, make them as constructive as you can, please. I recently received by first flame ever, and it wasn't even for any of my stories but for myself. Anyway, jake kion called me a whore, asshole, slut, bitch, and that I can't ever write a good story, to sum it up quickly. I really doubt that's constructive criticism since no one here knows anything about me except what I choose to tell them. Anyway, anyone suffering from boredom that's been to my profile knows what happened, and that there'll be a parody/humor fic coming out when I have time that's dedicated jake-kun for inspiring me.

Hmm. Except for the fact that I think I may have seen the real-life version of Deidara this morning (seriously, blonde hair, same length, couldn't tell it he/she was male/female. . . does it get any closer?), that's it! Anyway, please. . .

Review!


	5. Confrontations

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto whatsoever, except for my fictions.

"Speaking"

'_Thinking_'

**Demon talking**

_Flashback_

_Bloodlines and Demons_

by chairomori

Chapter Five: Confrontations

* * *

Silence rang throughout the basement. All forty-four of the remaining genin itched in anticipation as Yugido announced the arrival of the second examiner. They watched eagerly, expecting someone to miraculously appear in a flurry of smoke or clouds or maybe even enter through a wall, if that were possible. Only, no one arrived. Eager patience quickly shifted into restless irritation.

Of course, Naruto couldn't help but be the first to snap. "Ang it, you old hag! Didn't you say whoever's coming would be here 'now'? It's been ten minutes!"

'_Stupid, Naruto! You're going to get us expelled!'_ Seirei sighed in frustration but didn't make any move to stop him. She'd learned it was useless to try and do so.

"You little brat!" In a flash, Yugido appeared in front of the blonde and began shaking his head with his hair. "I thought I told you not to call me that or I'd fail you!" Her colleagues' and Naruto's blubbering protests and his teammates' embarrassment did little to stop her. "How am _I _supposed to know where he is? You think I bug everyone, huh? You obnoxious, ignorant,– " A flare of killing intent cut her off. "Huh?" She, along with everyone else turned toward the source.

At the entrance stood two people: The next examiner, in all his glory, pale-faced and trembling at his knees–visible to all due to his standard jounin uniform–and the very same cloaked man who unknowingly haunted a certain blonde genin's dreams.

"What are _you_ doing here, _Ruko_?" Yugido demanded, purposefully neglecting to add any formalities. Her nails involuntarily dug into Naruto's scalp causing him to flinch out of his frightened trance.

Ruko gave a wane smile as he filed her disrespect into his memory banks. "Ah, how . . . unprofessional, Yugido-san." He acknowledged at her harassment of Naruto. The smile turned into a smirk as the rebellious container released the blonde. "Forgive me. I was simply . . . _escorting_ Kohito-sensei here." He gave a light pat on the man's shoulder, causing him to lurch slightly and tremble more. Ruko only chuckled slowly at his discomfort. "We were discussing a few . . . changes that would be made for the second phase . . . I'm afraid we ran a bit late . . . I thought I'd . . . bring him here . . . and explain.

"Alright, you've explained _now leave!_" Yugido growled in irritation. She swore the mad man drawled his words out that slowly just to annoy her. Beside her, her left hand began to twitch.

"Of course, I was just about to," Ruko turned to leave when something caught his eye. "Have I . . . seen you somewhere?"

'_He's looking right at me!' _Naruto's mind screamed in horror. His eyes widened in fear. _'He's talking to me!_' _Next. Next. Next._ The words danced wickedly in his mind as he tried to keep his face calm while staring back at Ruko. He soon found his vision blocked by a purple intermediate. Yugido.

"Of course not," she sneered and crossed her arms, challenging the older man. "It's obvious he's a _Leaf_ genin. How could you possibly have seen him?" Her voice dripped with purposeful arrogance.

Silence followed words.

"Very well." Ruko at last turned and left at a crawling pace. As his presence faded, so did the unknown tension he brought with him.

"U-um," a voice wavered, "I'm Kohito-sensei . . ." He faltered as Yugido left her position and stood beside him. Her confidence encouraged him to continue. "I'll be your second proctor for the next exam. I-If you'll follow me . . ." He chuckled shakily although his words carried no humor, and motioned his hands out the door.

Chairs scrapping against untiled floor resounded around the room as chuunin and genin stood and followed Kohito out of the room. A had pressed down on Naruto's shoulder, causing him to stop and look up. Yugido, again. He felt the last few groups of genin stare at him as they walked around the two.

"Naruto?" Seirei questioned hesitantly beyond the door. Behind her stood an alert Senshu and mellow Kiba. They were still tense.

"Go," Yugido ushered. When everyone had left, she turned to Naruto. "Speak."

"Huh?" He stared quizzically at her face.

"Tell me. What did you do? For what reason does that damn bastard have interest in you?" She seethed as she spoke of Ruko.

"Gah! How should I know?!" he yelled at her. "It's not like I did anything bad!"

She bent down and stared at him, their eyes level. "Do you know," she began dangerously slow, "what happens to anyone Ruko has interest in?"

Naruto did nothing but gulp. He already knew the answer. _'They die.'_

"They disappear."

"What?" This answer was different from what Jii-san had told him. _'Of course,' _he mentally smacked himself. The circumstances were slightly different. "What do you mean, _disappear_?"

"Exactly what I meant. You disappear. He probably takes his victims to a lab or hidden prison. No one knows for sure. _You _don't want to know. _Do you?_" She stood and gazed down at him.

Naruto shook his head, afraid that answering 'yes' would immediately whisk him away into this secret place. "And no one will do a thing will they? They're all too afraid." He voiced his knowledge.

Yugido looked at him, surprised. "You're mostly right," she admitted. "Most people are too afraid. _Most_." She smiled bitterly. "I've already tried to tell the Raikage about this."

Naruto was caught off guard. "What? I thought no one could get close to the Raikage! They all die!"

She looked at him curiously. "That's true. Although I don't know how you came across that information." He looked at the floor. "But you see, I can't die. Ruko can't silence me."

"How? So you were able to get to the Raikage! What happened then? Why didn't he do anything?" Naruto demanded.

"He didn't believe me," she stated casually.

"What? Why not? What's wrong with him?" It didn't make sense. The words of a jounin should be highly valued.

Yugido gave him a bitter, glazed smile. "Why would he believe someone like _me_ over his _dear_ brother?" she laughed hollowly. "The Raikage-_sama_ is a delusional fool!"

"But–"

"Why am I telling you this?" That wasn't Naruto's question. "Because I want you out of here. Go back to Konoha where you belong."

"There's no way I'm quitting the exams just like that! No way!" he growled.

"Ruko is interested in you for some reason and there's no way I'm letting him get his hands on someone else. If you don't leave, I'll kill you right now, just so _he_ won't have you. Now say it! Say you'll leave!"

Naruto was at a panic. Forget Shimaru. In front of him stood a dangerous jounin who had just admitted that she considered murdering him. What was he to do? He would never betray his team and run like a coward for his own hide. It wasn't in his character. But if he told her this, there was no doubt she would take him down. It was obvious her hatred for Ruko made her desperate.

"Now, now, Yugido-san. Is that any way to treat a guest?" Yugido and Naruto both froze at the voice. Ruko emerged rom the back of the room.

'_D-damn it! How much did he hear? I didn't even notice him!'_ Yugido glared at the intruder. "What do you want?" Her left foot shifted forward a bit. Her right hand move up and clenched onto Naruto's shoulder. Said blonde didn't dare to look at the man behind him.

"Don't be so tense! I'm not going to eliminate you yet." He was mocking them.

Yugido noticed he had abandoned the annoying drawl he used publicly. Her wind whirled as she tried to process who he was referring to. The genin, or herself. She didn't miss the 'yet.' Her grip tightened and her left hand slowly prepared to make a hand sign.

"Kid." Naruto forced his eyes upward. Yugido continued to glare straight at Ruko as if unfazed by his presence, but he knew otherwise–her nails once again dug into his skin. "Get ready."

Naruto didn't even have enough time to gasp as Yugido picked him up, turned, and threw him into the other side of the hallway like a javelin. In seconds she complete her seals. "Kuchiyose no jutsu! Get that brat out of here!" After a creature burst through the smoke, she drew a kunai and blocked the exit. "You wanted to say something, Ruko-_sama_?" Her voice dripped bitter honey.

* * *

"Put me down! Hey! Do you hear me you stupid horse?" Naruto beat a side of the creature. After tumbling into the hallway, he had been scooped up by a mare and immediately rushed out the building. It had been difficult enough forcing his body into a riding position while bouncing up and down on the mare's bare back. Now he had no idea where they were going.

"Stop punching me before I shake you off!" The horse grunted at him. "I'm taking you to the next exam site. You're trying to be a chuunin, right?"

"But what about the proctor? Yugido? You can't just leave her back there with _him_!" Naruto shouted.

People and buildings blew past them. The mare didn't stop its gallop for anyone. "It doesn't matter. My orders were to get you out."

"Well I'm out now, so stop and let me off!" Naruto yanked at her mane, much to her chagrin in an attempt to stop her. To his surprise, she did, then vanished into a puff of smoke. "Huh?"

"Naruto! Thank goodness you're here! It's almost been half an hour!" Seirei bounded up to meet him. "Where were you? You didn't get lost did you? We could have been disqualified!"

"Yeah! I thought you'd chickened out!" Kiba chided as he caught up to Seirei.

But Naruto wasn't in the mood to argue with Kiba. He pushed past both of them and headed for the examiner, causing them to glance at each other questioningly. "Hey! You, Kohito-sensei! Hey!"

Kohito turned from a conversation with a chuunin and faced him. "Uh, the break should be ending soon. You and your team should be getting ready."

"I don't care about that!" Naruto growled fiercely, causing the proctor to lose what confidence he had regained. "Back at the last place, Yugido is facing Ruko! We have to help her!"

Kohito, as well as the chuunin near him, flinched. "I-I'm not sure you k-know what you're saying." He unsuccessfully attempted to grin. "Why would they be fighting? Y-you should go and–"

"Come on! Believe me, it's _true_! You have to do something!" He was angry. What kind of shinobi would turn his back on a comrade? That wasn't the shinobi way. Didn't he just learn that in the last exam?

"T-That's it! Stop with such, such n-nonsense before I have you and your team thrown out!" Kohito threatened. He was a bag of nerves and hysteria.

"Naruto! Stop it!" Seirei grabbed onto his sleeve to stop him from proceeding. "What are you doing?"

"Naruto?" Near him, Neji and Shino gave him a look of indifference that hid their curiosity.

He gave a soft chuckle after forcing himself to calm down. It unsettled his fellow Leaf genin. This was a side of Naruto they'd never seen before. This dangerously calm, calculating shinobi. "You're _afraid_," he accused. "You're nothing but cowards. All of you." His tone remained dangerously low. _'And I'm no better.'_

"Do you always try and cause trouble?" A voice whispered behind him. Naruto turned when Kohito groaned in self-pity. It was Shimaru. He turned toward on of the chuunin and ordered loudly. "I will tell Ruko-sama of this myself. Don't bother."

"That's right." Naruto turned to face him so that no one else could hear. "Go and tell your _master_. You're too _weak _to do anything else, aren't you?" Shimaru flinched slightly and turned away. "What's the matter, afraid of the truth?" Naruto pushed past him and walked away, calling loudly over his shoulder. "Let's go." The authority in his voice compelled not only his teammates, but all five of the other Konoha genin gathered there to follow him.

"What happened, Naruto? What was that all about?" Seirei asked as they left. The other genin remained silent as they waited for an answer.

"It's . . ." he trailed. _'Should I tell them? They'll most likely be dragged into this, but after that, they probably are. If anything happens, they should be prepared, but . . .'_ With new confidence, Naruto faced them. "I'll tell all of you once I get the chance," his expression gave them no doubt he would keep those words, "but first," he forced a familiar expression onto his face and grinned, "why don't you guys tell me what we're about to do?"

"Agreed, Naruto. I greatly anticipate this future appointment," Shino stated. _'His attitude just now and the authority he held over us for that second, when he becomes stronger, there is no doubt that he may become Hokage one day.' _He and Neji nodded to him as they left to join Tenten and Ikioi.

"Alright," Seirei explained. "While you were gone, the examiner gave us the jist of what this exam's about and then a break to prepare ourselves. This is another two-parter phase. First off, if you haven't noticed, we're on a mountain northeast of Kumogakure. Apparently, it's rigged with all sorts of traps; our goal is to get everyone on our team up to the apex in one piece before the sun completely sets."

"That's it? No team fighting?" It was suspicious. Exams were usually designed to weed out as many genin as possible.

"Apparently, the examiner thinks the mountain's enough to stop most of us." Senshu sighed lazily as he shuffled his feet. "That means I might actually have to try. Man, this sucks."

"Well, that's no problem for the future Hokage. Right, Akamaru?" Kiba smirked. The canine perched on his head barked eagerly in agreement.

"Hah! Of course you're right . . . if you're talking about me!" Kiba grinned. The Naruto he knew was back at last.

* * *

Neji cursed violently. This was _Kumogakure._ He should have known measures would be taken to disable the byakugan. He had been blinded by the mountain once he activated his bloodlimit. Apparently, the examiner had somehow forced a stream of chakra to rotate around its exterior, eliminating his advantage.

"If this chakra were stabilized, my kikai bugs could cut a path for your byakugan; however, seeing that it rotates, this is near impossible. They would have to absorb all of it," Shino stated.

"So we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way," Tenten pointed out as she threw a pebble at a deceptively innocent location, "and keep on the lookout for anything remotely suspicious." As the pebble hit the ground, a geyser of flames burst out before dying down.

"If even one of us had been that pebble, our entire team could have been disqualified," Ikioi surmised the situation. "It doesn't look like they're afraid of us dying during this phase . . ."

Tenten turned to him. "I'm glad you understand that . . . so you'd better put those genjutsu skills of yours to use or else!"

"This isn't the time Tenten." Neji glance upward at the mountain's peak. "Let's go."

* * *

"Hn. I guess that byakugan isn't all that after all," Sasuke smirked.

Before him, Uwayaku sniffed. "You're one to talk. Your sharingan can't even _see_ chakra, can it?"

"Please! Please! We should not be arguing!" Lee exclaimed.

"Can any of you use any fire jutsu?" Hane interrupted in annoyance.

"Why do _you_ need to know?" Sasuke challenged. He wasn't going to let a kunoichi from some low-class clan upstage _him, _an _Uchiha_.

"Because," she glared, "instead of standing here like a pack of _idiots,_ we could burn a path from here to the top. My bloodlimit allows me to increase the intensity of any flame. Any traps would melt, and I trust none of you are stupid enough to fall for genjutsu fields."

"B-but, what about all the life!" Lee blubbered. "What will the squirrels do? They will be charred! Oh, my little friends!" he bawled.

'_Get a life,'_ Uwayaku thought, thoroughly disgusted.

"This is a big rock, Lee. Nothing lives here. And if anything does, that's too bad," Sasuke grunted, frustrated by his team.

"That settles it then," she smirked triumphantly. "**We'll burn our way up.**"

* * *

"Whee! We'll be up there in no tiiiiiiime!" Fuu Squealed with glee as the air rushed past her face, sending powdery tufts of hair flying backwards. "Faster, Gaara, faster!"

"Pipe down, Fuu. He's concentrating." A voice yelled behind her.

"Eh? Sorry, Temari! Wah! Elevated trip wire! We're headed right for it at high speed!" she clenched her fists on the large cluster of sand everyone rode on. "Dodge it, Gaara!"

"Hekitei no jutsu!" Beside her, Nakuno thrust his chakra into the air particles before them, causing a massive explosion. It not only destroyed the trap, but reduced a small sector of the landscape to rubble.

"Heh. That works too," she grinned.

"And another first place finish for the sand team!"

'_I could drop them all off right now,' _thought Gaara, irritated by his teammates' antics.

* * *

'_If my sister was here, I swear she'd suggest we do something crazy, like burn down this mountain . . . Luckily, she's not.' _Senshu trudged wearily up the mountain, more out of complaint than actual fatigue. His team stunk at evading, pure and simple.

Every two steps or so, someone would accidently trip a wire or knock over something they shouldn't have. He could redirect any fire type traps easily enough, but most of the traps consisted of them dodging kunai and senbon. So far, they'd managed to scale a third of the mountain with only a few knicks and scrapes, although Naruto _had_ stepped on a lightning tag and somehow survived. Seirei had promptly healed him.

Speaking of Seirei, who knew she could heal? Judging by the katana on her back, she was a close-range combatant. Healers usually remained behind in battle so they wouldn't be injured. They were fortunate to have her with them, however, at the rate the traps were triggered – especially in this environment. She possessed some strange jutsu that allowed her to steal chakra. With the chakra around the mountain as a supply, given the time to perform the jutsu, she had an almost unlimited amount of chakra – perfect for healing any injuries they received. Speaking of which . . .

"Ah, dang it! Get me out of here!" Kiba had stumbled into a pithole. "Naruto, stop laughing!"

"You think you'd learn – this is your fourth time!" Seirei gritted her teeth as she struggled too pull him out of the hole. "Can't you use your nose to smell out these traps or something? You're an Inuzuka, right?"

"Yeah, but he stinks so bad he can't smell past himself."

"Naruto!"

Senshu sighed. This was getting troublesome.

* * *

"Yes! We made it!" Naruto pumped his fists into the air. "Just in time!"

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it."

Naruto moved his eyes in the direction of the voice. There was Sasuke, sitting confidently among the other Konoha genin. _'Heh. Teme.'_ His eyes scanned the area. Gaara's team had made it as well. So had Shimaru's. Laying about were a couple teams from Kumo and one from Oto. Then . . . _'What the . . .'_

A massive hole plunged into the depths of the mountain. The radius must have been _at least_ twenty meters long. He leaned his head forward and could make out some primitive use of lighting at the bottom . . . it was a long way down.

"Think it has something to do with this exam?" he pondered aloud.

Kiba peered down the hole. "Maybe. Let's just hope it's not another survival test. I doubt we're equipped to last long in an environment like that."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Environment like what? You can't even _see_ down there, it's so dark."

"Duh. That means there probably isn't any vegetation for us to survive on. What happens if we run out of the stuff Seirei's brought? We'll starve down there!"

"Wow, Kiba," Naruto nudged him playfully with an elbow. "I never knew you could think so much!"

"Aw, thanks, Naru- WHAT!? Are you insulting me?" Kiba was about to pounce on Naruto when someone cleared his throat.

"You," Naruto narrowed his eyes.

Kohito looked about ready to walk backwards. "Uh, t-the sun's about setting now so if you'll follow me . . ." He led the genin to a winding staircase carved into the mountain's interior.

As the genin descended, they felt the light coolness of the air transform into a musty entity, pressing against their bodies. Irrational fear gripped some of them as the setting sun retracted its light, leaving them abandoned in the mountain's darkened core. They shared a sigh of relief when they finally reached the end of the steps.

Four ledges protruded above four arches, equidistant from each other and circulating the base. Above each ledge flickered a sliver of flame, each illuminating one knaji: north, south, east, and west. However, where each arch led was a mystery to the genin.

"Alright now. Behind each of these doors are the sites of the next phase," Kohito mumbled to somewhere past the genin's heads. "There are eight teams remaining. That's . . . thirty-two genin divided by four . . . eight genin in each site. Before I explain how this exam functions, I need everyone here to arrange themselves into pairs."

Murmurings rose in the crowd of genin. "Why's that?"

"Uh, just get into pairs first. Any kind – even if you're from a different village. For example, a genin from Kumo could pair up with one from Oto . . ." Kohito widened his eyes and clamped his mouth shut, as if he had accidently unraveled some atrocious conspiracy. "Um, uh, why don't you just get paired up now?" He stumbled as he backed away. "I'll give you five minutes."

The genin scrambled to pair themselves up with their limited time. They mostly partnered with those within their own village, however . . .

"Darn it!" Naruto seethed. "Why'd everyone partner up so fast? I didn't take _that_ long to think about who my best partner should be! Hmpf. Kiba _immediately_ ran off and partnered with Shino, no that I'd want to partner with dog breath or bug boy anyway. Then Neji partners up with Tenten and that other Hyuuga guy with Seirei. Well, they're on the same teams so that's understandable, but Sasuke and _Lee_? Who thought of that? And finally, I go to Senshu, but he gets dragged off by his straight-edged sis. Now all that's left is Ikioi, and after all I've heard, there's no _way_ I'm partnering with him. Argh!" He didn't really care that he had spoken aloud and probably offended more than one person. "Man! Who the heck here wants to be my partner!?"

"Uzumaki Naruto . . . I'll be your partner."

"Huh? You!" Naruto pointed. "Gaara! Looking all cool like you're taking pity on me!" he paused, receiving a stare that implied Gaara _was_ taking pity on him. But that's okay, I guess. So we're a team!"

"So that leaves me with . . ." Nakuno scanned the genin and sighed. "The only unpaired person left. A Leaf nin whose name I don't even know," he complained as he headed towards Ikioi.

Once they were all paired, Kohito approached them again, this time with a chuunin who presented the instructions. "Okay, now. Basically, four teams will enter each passageway. Each site is divided into two sectors. In the first sector, each team will have a bout with one other team of its choice. The winners will be guided to the second sector by a chuunin. Once in the second sector, the alliances you've just established will dissolve. Partners may continue to battle as a team, but the second sector really consists of a four-way battle. Only the last two standing in each sector will progress to the final stage. However, if by any chance only one genin remains or all genin in a sector are knocked out, one or no genin from that sector will move on. In this way, a maximum of eight genin will have a chance at attaining the chuunin rank. You will have four hours to complete this phase. Are there any questions?"

"You said we would be observed by chuunin. Will they interfere, like referees?" a genin inquired.

"No. The chuunin are only present to guide the winning teams to the second sector and keep time. No matter what the situation, they will not interact with you, even if you are in a life and death situation. Clear?"

"So killing is allowed?" Someone called out.

"Yes. As long as you are within the four-hour time limit, anything goes." The chuunin waited for any other questions. When no one else asked, he proceeded. "Okay, now everyone pick an entrance. A maximum for four genin from a village is allowed in a single sector. You will be allowed in one team at a time to allow teams to implement any strategies and adjust to the environment. Of course, the last team to enter will have a slight disadvantage, so I recommend you choose which arch to enter quickly. That being said, you may now begin this phase," he concluded anticlimactically before stepping aside.

The genin pairs quickly consulted each other and hurried to the arches where a chuunin followed each pair in. Once inside, they found that there wasn't anything special about the interiors. Each of the four sites simply consisted of a series of narrow, maze-like tunnels lit by torches. All the genin found trouble breathing in the enclosed atmosphere; however, since they all suffered from this, it wasn't necessarily a disadvantage to anyone when they faced each other.

* * *

"Well, well, well. Didn't think we'd meet again this soon. How unfortunate for you," Uwayaku smirked. He criss-crossed his arms and leaned back haughtily as he taunted Neji.

Neji glared back. He and Tenten had been the first pair to enter the North Arch. Uwayaku must have seen and followed them. "Tenten, you take his teammate," he nodded towards Seirei, "I'll handle him."

Tenten eyed the katana on Seirei's back and agreed. They would battle byakugan versus byakugan, weapon versus weapon.

"Don't be so overconfident," Uwayaku warned smugly. "If I were you, I'd keep your pet puffhead around. Someone like you will need all the help you can get."

"_Pet puffhead?_"Tenten's eye twitched as she self-consciously fingered her hair. She quickly swiped a kunai from her holster. "That's it, he's mine!"

Neji was startled. He had planned on combating the cocky main house Hyuuga since he'd learned they'd both take the exams. "But–"

Tenten gave him an evil eye that almost forced him to take a step back. "I said '_he's mine._'"

'_Maybe it's best this way. If Tenten takes on Uwayaku, that means we won't have to worry about him using the curse seal . . . but can she beat him? She's never won against me once._' Neji could sense waves of irritation flowing off his teammate. He relented. "Alright."

"You backing out, coward?" Uwayaku sneered.

Tenten intervened before Neji could retort. "You should focus on your opponent." She turned to Neji. "Give me some space."

Used to her fighting style, Neji nodded and left, turning one of the cavern's many corners, allowing Tenten as much area as she needed for her weapons. Meanwhile, Seirei followed him, her right hand heading towards her katana.

"Looks like I have to get rid of the _pet_ first, huh?"

"I'd take your own advice: don't get overconfident, because this is where the exams end for you," Tenten countered in a controlled tone. _'Heh. Neji's trash-talking is rubbing off on me.'_

Uwayaku activated his byakugan and entered a stance, poised to attack or defend. "Big talk for a _girl_. I heard about how you got knocked out in one move last exam. Beating a weakling like you will be no sweat for me."

Tenten growled at the memory of her defeat by Temari. _'This guy is _definitely_ going down.'_ She threw her kunai at him and followed with a shuriken, then observed as he caught the first projectile and dodged the latter. _'He's fast, but not as fast a Lee, even with Lee's weights.'_

She drew another kunai and prepared to evade as he propelled himself forward to attack. Weaving left and right in a zigzag as he evaded his hands, she didn't notice his right leg rising until it was too late. The kick hurdled her body back a couple meters before hse regained her footing and fired handful after handful of senbon. Uwayaku was only able to avoid the first few, and soon was pierced in several areas in his upper body.

They continued to assault and evade each other's attacks a few more minutes before Tenten reached a conclusion. _'I think I've measured his capacities.'_ She leapt onto the cavern's ceiling and applied chakra to her feet, causing her to suspend from the ceiling. '_It's time to test out my new jutsu.'_ She readies herself as Uwayaku charged up the wall with his right hand pulled back, ready to jab her. Once he was close enough, she let out a breath of anticipation and ran through her handseals. '

* * *

Neji ducked. Naruto's teammate, Seirei was her name?, had wasted no time with words. He'd heard complaints from Team Shikamaru about her constant nags and had assumed it was simply lighthearted responsibility. But his assumption that she was just some secretary-in-training – all talk – had been off.

Seirei had followed him and immediately move in to slice him with her katana before he had fully settled into position. She continued to advance without giving him a chance to do anything but defend.

Neji activated his byakugan and struggled to keep away from the katana while he channeled chakra throughout his body in preparation for Kaiten. As soon as she made to attack again, he instantly stopped and repelled it by spinning, causing it to fly out of her grasp.

However, instead of displaying surprise or being phased, Seirei simply pulled out a kunai, as if to improvise. Neji took the brief interlude to gain his balance. _'This one, she's not like Tenten, Ino, or the others. She follows the shinobi rules down to the letter.' _He rushed in to close her tenketsu when he noticed she held the kunai in her mouth and began a series of seals. This caused him to hurry before she completed the jutsu.

He frowned when she blocked his attack with her hands. Being a teammate of a Hyuuga, she should have known what would happen. Suddenly, he realized that instead of her tenketsu closing, they were absorbing his chakra. He quickly backed off and regained his footing. _'She must have developed this as a counter to the byakugan. There has to be a limit to how much chakra she can absorb, but I should take her down before I lose too much,'_ he thought, remembering that he had to battle again afterwards. _'It seems that she can only absorb chakra through her hands, so if I disable them somehow . . .'_

He rushed in to hit her arms, but she grabbed the kunai in her mouth to block him, then raised her chakra-sucking hand. He grabbed a kunai and made to stab her hand, causing her to pull it back. Then he took the chance to close the points on her right arm, distorting the control she had over that area. That left just her left hand to worry about.

He leaped backwards and noticed she did as well. Realizing that she had regained her katana, he cursed and prepared to use Kaiten again. As she charged in with her katana, he activated Kaiten, but realized her plan as she slowed a bit and reached a hand out. It seemed that she was going to try and _absorb_ his Kaiten, then attack with the katana. He smirked. As long as he applied enough force, there was no way she could keep up with his Kaiten enough to absorb it.

As she reached in, he spun as hard as he could, sending her hand flying back, creating an opening. Taking advantage of this, he closed access to her chakra and knocked her backwards with a chakra-backed palm.

Seireir flew backwards and let out a gasp as she hit the cave's wall, knocking her out. Neji panted a bit before hurrying back to Tenten and Uwayaku's battle. '_I have to get back and help her.'_ He turned a corner and swerved to dodge someone. "Tenten?"

His teammate looked at him. "You're finished too?"

"Yeah," he said slowly, activating his byakugan to make sure his eyes weren't fooling him. It was Tenten – no Henge no jutsu.

Tenten frowned. "What's the matter? Didn't think I could beat him? Besides, even if he'd won, only an idiot would try to use a henge on the byakugan."

"How did you do it?" Neji was curious. Tenten had never beaten him their spars.

"Nope. I'm not telling," she teased. "If you want to find out, you'll have to fight me in the finals."

* * *

A/N: Alright, after almost a year, here's another chapter! Hm, if I keep posting two chapters a year, it's going to take me over ten years to finish this fic! Anyway, I guess some of the stuff in this chapter needs some explaining, huh?

First off, I'll begin with Naruto and the "OC-ness" he displayed. I believe that Naruto isn't a complete airheaded goofball. I enjoy writing him as one because that's just the facade he chooses to show everyone as we can see. But there are instances in both manga and anime where Kishimoto-san shows he's _not_ and idiot and that he does have moments when he's feeling down and depressed but hides it. I'm not going to bother listing them all though. You guys can go out and find them.

Secondly, Hane's plan to burn a trail up the mountain. No, I'm not crazy and I'm not trying to make her seem like some over-powerful mary-sue character. By having her suggest this, it shows her destructive nature and gives the audience a bit of characterization.

Thirdly, I made Yugido's summoning a horse. Why a horse and not a feline when she's the container of the nibi? Naruto's the container of the kyuubi, why does he summon frogs and not foxes? I just used a horse, because horses are wild and are associated for their spiritedness and stubbornness. I gave these characteristics to Yugido, and I thought a horse would be the best representation for her.

Fourth: Kohito. Yeah, he's another OC. Is he important? No. Do you need to remember his name? No. So no complaining about me adding another OC. I just couldn't leave the proctor nameless.

Fifthly, Tenten's attack, Ryuureitouiki no jutsu. Sadly, I can't tell you much about it now. You're in the dark just like Neji is. Unless you can translate the name, you'll have to wait for Neji and Tenten's final match!

Whew! What a long author's note! I'm going to end with a voting however. Next chapter will consist of the rest of the battles, and I need to know which ones my readers want to read! I have a few I know I'm writing, however, I won't wasted my time writing ones that no one is interested in reading. Therefore, I'm going to list the team pairings and I'm asking you guys to choose which ones you want to see. Here they are:

Gaara & Uzumaki Naruto

Raikou Kumo & Kogane Yokou (Kumogakure)

Hyuuga Neji & Tenten

Aburame Shino & Inuzuka Kiba

Aguni Hane & Aguni Senshu (Konohagakure)

Temari & Fuu (Sunagakure)

Sasuke & Lee

Nakuno (Sunagakure) & Morino Ikioi (Konohagakure)

Shimaru & Hyuuga Sukai (Kumogakure)

As always, please review!!


	6. Contemplations

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto whatsoever, except for my fictions.

"Speaking"

'_Thinking_'

**Demon talking**

* * *

_Bloodlines and Demons_

by chairomori

Chapter Six: Contemplations

* * *

Sasuke lunged forward and successfully connected his fist to his opponent's face. The navy blue haired boy skidded backwards on the rocky surface before rubbing his cheek. '_He doesn't seem very strong,'_ Sasuke analyzed, '_but he's dodging most of my attacks. And my last battle against Temari and Fuu from the sand has lost me most of my chakra.'_

The boy in front of him formed hand seals. "Rai no tate." (Lightning Shield) Then he charged forward.

Activating his sharingan, Sasuke saw the field of electrical chakra surrounding the boy and avoided him. He jumped backwards along the cave's wall. "Goukakyuu no jutsu!" The fireball dispersed as it hit the shield. Surprised, Sauke drew several kunai and threw them, only to see them stop and fall in midair as they reached the shield. _'The only way to end this is to use chidori. The electricity in the shield will magnify my attack.'_

As Sasuke prepared his chidori, he saw the chakra surrounding the boy dissipate. Though confused, he charged anyway. His opponent pulled out a small glass vial of water and threw it at Sasuke who dodged it as he ran forward. The boy quickly made more seals. "Suiton: Bakuha no jutsu." (Water Blast Technique). Sasuke was caught off guard as a jet of water slammed into him from behind.

Sasuke flipped back to the ground, soaking wet. Seeing as his opponent no longer had a shield, he prepared to use a fire jutsu, but as soon as he initiated the first seal, the shield reactivated itself. '_Kuso, I'll use chidori again, then.' _Once again, he finished the seals and gathered chakra into his left hand. As the jutsu formed, an intense pains hot up his arm and zigzagged through his body. He was forced to cancel the attack. "What happened?" He was weak from two failed attempts at chidori and his last battle.

"I thought you were smarter than that," the boy appeared in front of him and kneed him with the shield still activated, causing him to be even more electrocuted. "Didn't you know? Water conducts electricity."

Sasuke forced his heated body to rise. "You forget. I still have other jutsu."

"Actually, I didn't," the boy replied nonchalantly. "By using that high level jutsu of yours, you're drained of most of your chakra, opening you up for this," he made a different set of handseals. "Hekireki zenshinfuzui no jutsu." A steamy haze encircled him and spread out like a bubble.

Sasuke tried to jump away, but it engulfed him, rendering his body immobile. '_Damn it!'_ He couldn't do anything as his opponent approached him and pressed a point on his spine, sending him into unconsciousness.

His opponent, Shimaru, stood over him for a moment as he remembered which direction Sukai and the other Konoha genin had gone. At least one more genin had to be eliminated before he could advance to the final rounds.

When he arrived at the site of their confrontation, he saw that the genin in the green jumpsuit was already knocked out and sprawled on the cavern floor. Shimaru's 'teammate' leaned against the wall and stared at her hands, seemingly in a state of shock. He didn't need to ask what had happened, as she began to explain of her own accord.

"I-I don't quite know what happened. He was so fast, and I was scared. I tried to block him, but I couldn't. I pushed at him when he tried to come at me . . . and he just collapsed for no reason." Confusion and hesitance wrapped themselves around her explanation.

Shimaru gathered what he knew and assumed it had something to do with the bloodlimit she inherited. Whatever it was, he didn't really care unless he had to face her in combat. For now, they were both in the finals.

* * *

Hane rested against the rocky wall. Around her, two Kumo genin and her brother laid sprawled out. She scoffed at Senshu's limp form. He'd probably gotten himself knocked out on purpose to avoid advancing.

It frustrated her. Senshu didn't seem to care about the pathetic state their clan was in. Even if he did care, he did as little as possible to help the cause. All he ever did was mutter about how useless it was following "those old skeletons."

As he laid there, helplessly oblivious to everything, something within her itched to end his pitiful existence. If he never did anything useful anyway, what was the point of having him around? It wasn't bloodthirstiness or insanity that drove her to think such things, she reasoned. It was rationality. Everything had a reason for existence, and according to that voice in her head, Senshu had none.

The tips of her fingers gently grazed his neck as she contemplated whether or not she should end his life.

But then, who was she to 'play god'? What right did she have to decide who lived and who didn't? Wasn't she also just another insignificant little genin?

No, no. The voice in her head corrected her. That wasn't true at all. Unlike Senshu, who refused to give his life meaning, she had a _purpose_. She was going to restore her clan's name. It's reputation. This had already all been written by fate, hadn't it? She wasn't playing god–she was merely carrying out his or her wishes. So even if she killed her brother, it would just be another act dictated from fate or whatever it was that ran the world.

Her hand tightened as it mockingly constricted around his neck for a second. She released him immediately, still wavering in her thoughts and continued to contemplate in silence and solitude amongst the cavern's darkness.

* * *

"Hariame no jutsu!" (Rain of Glass Technique). A downpour of misshaped shards materialized from seemingly nowhere and clashed into a menagerie of small weapons.

"Tenten, concentrate on your own opponent," Neji called to her.

The said kunoichi dived as a bolt of lightning crashed where she previously stood. "Are you kidding? That guy nearly made chunks of meat out of you with that glass shower."

Neji grimaced as the genin Tenten was fighting, Kumo, approached him with a fist of crackling electricity. Instead of activating Kaiten, he moved his head and grabbed the genin's arm, and started to close his tenketsu.

Kumo struggled to get loose. "My chakra. What are you doing?"

The Hyuuga smirked. "Closing your chakra pathways."

"What? That's impossible!"

"Neji! Heads up!" As he finished closing Kumo's tenketsu, he glanced upward and saw a barrage of weaponry clash above his head before falling downwards toward him. He leaped away, leaving Kumo to be pinned down by them. He turned towards the other Cloud genin, Yokou. "Give up. You're almost out of chakra, so you can't use that bloodline ability to reflect out attacks anymore."

The panting genin before him readied himself. "You underestimate me. I don't give up." He pulled out a kunai and wrapped something around it.

Realizing it was an explosive tag, Neji called to Tenten. "Get back!"

An explosion caused many boulders of earth to fall from above as the kunai hit the ceiling. "Hariame no jutsu." Glass shards flew into the boulders, slicing them into thousands of jagged rocks mixed with glass. It would be impossible for Tenten to counter.

Neji stepped in front of her. "Kaiten." He whirled an sent the fragments hurdling back toward their owner who did his best to defend. Neji ended his Kaiten and followed the debris, channeling the last of his chakra into his palm. He slammed it straight into Yokou's chest, rendering him unconscious. Neji slumped in exhaustion.

Tenten strolled casually toward him. "Well, I didn't do too much so I still have a bit of chakra left. Should I beat you now, or wait for the finals?" she tapped her chin thoughfully.

"Very funny, Tenten." Neji muttered.

* * *

"I'm not losing to you again, Naruto! I'm beating you, and then going on my way to the finals!" Kiba grinned.

"Says the guy who's on the ground," Naruto pointed out.

Kiba dropped his grin and sighed. "There's no way I or Akamaru could beat that move you pulled just now. Not at our current level. What was it?"

Naruto dropped to the ground and crossed his legs. "You mean the rasengan? It's my new move. I didn't even use it fully on you, or you wouldn't be here right now."

"That powerful huh?" Kiba muttered. He groaned as he pushed himself up into sitting position. "And those two are still at it?" He nudged his head toward Shino, who seemed to be holding his own against Gaara.

"Let's check." Naruto drew a breath and yelled out at the top of his lungs. "Oy! Who's winning?" Not that he expected an answer.

Gaara allowed his eyes to move toward Naruto's direction briefly before returning his gaze towards Shino. They were currently at a bit of a stalemate, believe it or not. He couldn't command his sand to attack or rather, he could, but the other genin's kikai bugs would eat the chakra controlling his sand, rendering it useless. Likewise, Shino didn't have enough bugs to launch a full out assault. Thus, it all came down to who had more of what. Chakra or bugs? Gaara had to admit, the Aburame was more resourceful than he initially thought.

"Come on! Somebody do something!" Two Narutos suddenly popped out of nowhere and aimed a fist at both their heads. Luckily for Gaara, his shield of sand automatically rushed to block; however, Shino had unfortunately been caught off-guard. The punch fell directly onto his skull and sent him crashing toward the ground. Shino twitched involuntarily, his eyebrows still sky-high and mouth in an 'o' shape. "Oops?" Naruto chuckled nervously

Gaara glared at him. "You just deprived me of a worthy challenge."

Naruto was appalled. "What? I didn't mean to! Besides, you guys were just _standing_ there!"

"It was a battle of intellect. We were silently contemplating the wisest choice of action. I was quite enjoying the experience of not knowing what the outcome would have been."

The information shocked Naruto. "You mean out of all those opponents you've raved about – Sasuke, Lee, _me_ – it turns out that it's _Shino_ that actually poses more of a challenge to you!?" He was exasperated. "It's always the quiet ones, as they always say."

Gaara raised an eyebrow. "They?"

Naruto sighed. "It's an expression." He glanced at Shino. "Anyway, that was a bit anticlimactic."

Kiba called from down the cave. "Although I agree, I never knew you knew such big words, Naruto!"

"Ah, shut it, before I really do knock you out!"

After a while, two chuunin appeared. One gestured to Gaara and Naruto. "You two, follow me." To the other chuunin, he ordered, "Get the others to the infirmary." With that, he led the two genin outside of the mountain where five others stood about.

The chuunin faced them. "The seven of you have now advanced to the final rounds where you will be eligible for the rank, 'chuunin.' They will take place exactly two weeks from now. Before I dismiss you, you'll have to draw lots to see who you'll be facing." The chuunin pulled out a small box and the genin retrieved numbered slips, much like they did in Konoha's exams. The chuunin made markings on a sheet and held it out to them. "The final match-ups are Sabaku no Gaara versus Uzumaki Naruto, Aguni Hane versus Hyuuga Sukai, and Hyuuga Neji versus Tenten. Shimaru will advance to the semifinals by default. You're dismissed."

* * *

Naruto laid sprawled on his bed, limbs askew, eyes closed in concentration. He, Neji, Tenten, and Hane had returned to the hotel after midnight as soon as they were dismissed. Kakashi and Gai had been waiting for them.

"_Well, another good showing for Konoha," Kakashi greeted._

_Gai grinned. "Kakashi, my rival, two of my students made it to the finals this time, compared to your one! Looks like I win again, eh?" he paused. "Oh no! I forgot, they are under _your_ temporary tutelage! Nooo!"_

_The genin sighed. Fatigued, they wanted to just avoid their sensei and rest. "Ne, Kakashi-sensei, get on with it already," Naruto whined._

_Kakashi faced him, his sole eye creased in amusement. "Alright then. First, I want to congratulate all of you for advancing. Since you have two weeks to train, Gai and I will be splitting you up between us. Tomorrow, or rather, today, we'll give you a break. You can relax and regain your strength. Then, we'll spend a week training you."_

_Neji gazed back suspiciously. "And the week after?"_

"_Gai and I will be returning to Konoha where we, along with Jiraiya, will personally escort Godaime-sama here. Also, it seems Hiashi is a bit anxious. He's requesting that any Hyuuga whose presence here is unnecessary return." Kakashi turned to Neji. "Of course, that doesn't include you."_

"_Wait. Didn't it take us five days to get here? How can you go to and from Konoha in less that a week?" Tenten pointed out._

"_You can't expect us to go very fast with a group of twelve genin with us," Kakashi explained. "But alone, we can make the trip in half the time." The genin nodded. "Now, why don't you get some rest? You must be tired."_

Naruto sighed. '_I wonder what the training will be like. We probably won't be doing much, seeing as we're in foreign territory.' _He sensed a large amount of people approaching. It seemed Neji had arrived with the others – he had gone to fetch them at the infirmary. Forcing himself up, he went to open the door ahead of time. Soon, Neji, Shino, Senshu, Kiba, and Seirei passed through the doorway. Shikamaru followed them from behind.

"I decided to bring him too. We might need his intellect," Neji explained.

Naruto nodded in reluctant agreement. Another comrade added to this whole mess. Once everyone settled in, he closed and locked the door, then headed to do the same with the windows. After drawing the curtains shut, he faced them. "I don't want anyone listening in on this."

"I've scattered my bugs at key locations. They'll notify us if anyone approaches." Naruto could have sworn Shino's voice held a trace of curtness in it. He must have still been upset.

"Akamaru and I'll smell anyone coming," Kiba pointed to his nose and patted the canine.

Neji activated his byakugan and turned it a bit to survey the area. "No one's around."

Naruto nodded. "Good. Keep your byakugan on, if that's alright." Neji raised an eyebrow but didn't comment further. With the area secured, Naruto proceeded to tell the genin and chuunin everything that he had witnessed from his first encounter with Shimaru, to the confrontation with Yugito. They listened in silence.

"So that's why you were all freaked out yesterday, before the exams," Seirei whispered.

Shikamaru sighed. "So troublesome. Why'd you have to involve _me_ in this, Neji? Man. Now I'm gonna have to watch my back the entire time we're here."

"Not necessarily," Shino countered. "It seems that Naruto is the sole interest of these antagonists."

"Yeah, but we could be targeted by mere association," Shikamaru pointed out. He closed his eyes and thought. "We shouldn't let on to anyone else that we know about this. Pretend as if you haven't a clue what's happened," he instructed. "Chances are, doing so will just draw attention to ourselves, like Naruto has already done."

"But we have to do something to save that examiner!" Naruto protested. "Who knows what they're doing to her?"

"Naruto, we should concentrate on saving ourselves first," Shikamaru snapped. "If I recall correctly, that examiner was going to kill you. Even if we knew where she is, would it be worth it to rescue her?" He sighed ans scratched his forehead. "Anyways, in case you've forgotten, we're not in Konoha right now. We're in a possibly hostile territory that isn't allied with our village. Doing anything rash could not only damage our reputation, it might also get us, and the village, in loads of trouble."

Neji intervened. 'So what do you suggest we do? Are you saying we're just sitting ducks?"

"No, actually. In another circumstance, possibly. Right now, the chuunin exams are underway. It would look suspicious if a group of genin suddenly disappeared – much like it did with that Dosu guy. We should use this to our advantage. For now, focus on getting through the last two weeks with everyone coming out alive. When going out, stick around crowds of people. No one will try anything with plenty of witnesses. If you have to go anywhere secluded or you're traveling at night, I advise that you use the buddy system. From what Naruto said, there are two people we need to watch out for. Ruko and Shimaru. Therefore, I suggest everyone travel in groups of at least three."

"Why three?" Seirei asked.

"One to face each opponent, and one to hightail it out and get help," Shikamaru stated bluntly. "Four would be even better. Two of you could team up against the jounin."

"What? You're asking that someone just abandon the conflict and run?" Naruto growled.

Shikamaru sighed again. "Not run. _Get help_. I'll tell Kakashi and Gai so they'll be on alert."

"But Kakashi and Gai-sensei are leaving in a week," Neji stated.

The news alerted the chuunin. "Not good. If anything happens, it'll probably during the time they're gone. After all, what'll be left but a bunch of genin and inexperienced chuunin? We'll have to be on extra alert."

"Damn," Kiba muttered. "I don't know about you guys, but his makes me feel so helpless."

"Don't be," Shikamaru ordered, capturing the genin's attention. "For now, you'll all have a job, and that's to keep all our other teammates out of trouble. They don't need to know about this. For example, who knows what _Sasuke_ might do if he thought about going after these guys for a 'challenge.'"

"There's someone walking down the hallway." Neji whispered rapidly.

Shikamaru nodded and got up, whispering to them quickly. "Be inconspicuous, but not too much that you draw attention. Remember what I said about the buddy system. Any stay out of trouble." He walked to the door. "This applies especially to you, Naruto." He casually exited the room and closed the door. They heard muffled sounds as he greeted someone and shuffled on.

Naruto remained quiet and stared at the other genin.

Neji was the first to move. "I'm not sure about this whole ordeal, Naruto, but I _am_ glad to be out of the dark. Just try not to die." He left the room.

"I agree," Shino stated. "Besides, you still owe me for what occurred yesterday."

"Hey, if you want," Kiba grinned nervously, trying to lighten the atmosphere, "Shino and I could be your bodyguards." He forced a laugh. "I mean, it's not like we're in the finals . . ."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "I think I'm better off without you."

Seirei stood and motioned towards the door. "That reminds me, I'd better watch out for Ikioi. If anything does happen, he might not be able to . . ." she trailed at the mention of her teammate's deficiencies and left without completing her sentence.

Naruto let out a sigh and gazed at the genin still in the hotel room. "I'm going out for a walk."

Kiba perked up. "Naruto, are you sure? I mean-"

"Look, I'm not a helpless kid, alright?" Naruto lashed out. Realizing this, he drew back and said more quietly, "I'm just going out for a bit. Besides, Shikamaru said everything'll be okay if we just stick to the crowds, right? It's still morning." No one moved as Naruto left.

Kiba sighed when someone caught his attention. "Hey, Senshu, are you awake?" The genin had his head buried in his arms as he rested on his desk, faced away from everyone. He waited a while and didn't think he'd receive an answer when Senshu suddenly replied.

"I heard everything."

Kiba frowned. His temporary teammate had been acting a little off since he'd met him in the infirmary. "What are you going to do?"

Senshu hesitated for a bit. "There's nothing to do."

A shuffling sound carried behind him as Kiba rose. "Come on, Shino." He heard the door click and sighed. It was just him now.

He lifted his head and blankly stared at the ceiling, the previous day's events when he played possum still fresh in his memory. Hane's fingers gliding along his neck. Their tingling touches against his skin as she constricted them . . . And the chilling, burning sensation that remained against his neck when she left.

He closed his eyes, allowing th ebony abyss to swallow his vision. Pushing the memory far back into his mind with all the other molding ones he was reluctant to address, he drifted away.

* * *

Naruto allowed his feet to drag him along as he exited the hotel. The sky was a bit overcast, typical of the area during that season, but it complemented his mood all the same.

He couldn't help but feel downcast. It was as if somewhere along the way he'd suddenly betrayed himself. After all, since when was he they type of person to run away from these things? He'd always been one to rush out head on. To tackle problems without restraint.

But now, he felt like someone had interrupted him, suddenly barring his way with a sign stating "THIS IS YOUR LIMIT." He hated this feeling. The feeling that he was insignificant – not even a pawn in whatever game was being played in this country. As if nothing he did or didn't do could help to remedy the situation any bit.

He supposed it was because he was out of his element. From the battle on the bridge, against Haku and Zabuza to fighting Kabuto, he'd always had something to prove, someone to protect. Whether it be his nindo, his pride, his teammates, he village – there was always _something_. Here though, what was there?

Kumogakure wasn't his home. It wasn't even an ally of Konoha. He didn't have friends here or anyone he cared about. He was simply here for the exams. Nothing more. There was no reason for him to fuss or feel bothered by strange murders or disappearances of others. They had nothing to do with his village. And if he stayed out of whatever was happening, it was all the better.

But then the feeling of betrayal would sink in. So what if he didn't know the people? Was it right to remain in apathy? Allow them to be terrorized and murdered by this underground force?

What would a Hokage do? Naruto wondered. A Hokage was responsible for protecting not only the inhabitants of Konoha, but also for managing all of the shinobi and protecting the well-being of all those within Fire Country. But did it stop there? Did the Hokage, was it a Hokage's duty, to ignore the plight of those outside of Fire Country's borders, for the sake of the people? If _he_ were Hokage at the moment and knew of these occurrences, what would _he_ do?

Naruto suddenly snapped out of his musings when he realized where his feet had subconsciously led him. Icha Icha Ramen Paradise. The place was as he'd left it the previous day. Half-open. Abandoned. It seemed like no one had even bothered to board it up. He wondered if Jii-san's body had been discovered yet . . . Naruto turned to leave when someone caught his eye.

It was Shimaru, heading towards the ramen stand. Seeing him there ignited Naruto's fury. He headed towards the genin, throwing Shikamaru's precautions into the breeze. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

The navy haired genin gazed at him coldly. "What does it look like? I'm getting something called _food_. Are all those from Konoha this stupid?"

Naruto glared. It was the arrogant side of Shimaru that had addressed him. The one, Naruto realized, he used when in public. "Stop pretending. You and I both know the old man's _dead._"

Shimaru's eyes widened in surprise. "What?" he whispered in disbelief.

"What do you mean, 'what'? You did it, didn't you? _You_ killed him," Naruto accused.

The cloud genin didn't bother scanning the area before grabbing Naruto and heading towards the stand. "I don't believe you. There's no way Ruko would kill that man. Not yet anyway."

Confused, Naruto allowed himself to be dragged. "What are you talking about? Are you saying it wasn't you?"

Shimaru let go of him and stuck his head over the counter. "No, it wasn't me," he stated, annoyed. He leaped over it and headed inside, looking around. Naruto followed him, but stopped when he headed into the room that held the old man's body. Moments later, Shimaru emerged, slightly paler.

"Why are you acting so weird?" Naruto asked, curious. It didn't make sense. The genin had most likely killed many others before. He shouldn't be affected by another death, right?

"You don't understand," Shimaru explained, losing the cocky edge to his voice. "That wasn't just any old man. No one else but the Raikage is supposed to know this, but he's an undercover spy for the Raikage. Unsuspecting people come to this stand to gossip and don't realize that anything they say many be reported. No one would suspect a wrinkled, old man."

"Then how do you know?"

"Because, I'm Ruko's subordinate and he has spies everywhere."

Naruto was stumped. "If you guys knew this all along, why was Jii-san allowed to live? And why didn't he tell the Raikage about you and everything?"

"He did," Shimaru answered. "Ruko allowed him to live in order to lull the Raikage into a false sense of security. To make him feel as if he was in control, but he already knew that the Raikage was aware of some of his activities."

"If the Raikage knows about all this, why doesn't he do anything? As Raikage, shouldn't he protect this village? At all costs?"

"The Raikage doesn't know how many shinobi Ruko has control over. It would be disastrous if a civil war were to occur. He's afraid. Ruko's been using this time to recruit more followers, but now . . . by killing the Raikage's spy, he must be-"

"Ahem."

Naruto and Shimaru whipped their heads around. They had been so absorbed in conversation, they'd foolishly let their guard down, allowing someone to arrive undetected. Ruko stood before them, cloak drawn over his form.

Naruto suppressed another shiver. He should have listened to Shikamaru, because he didn't know how he would get out of this alive.

Ruko turned to Shimaru with dangerous amusement. "Well, aren't you going to kill him?"

* * *

A/N: Good? Bad? Please review! -chairo 


	7. Preparations

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto whatsoever, except for my fictions.

"Speaking"

'_Thinking_'

**Demon talking**

* * *

_Bloodlines and Demons_

by chairomori

Chapter Seven: Preparations

* * *

Naruto narrowed his eyes and tensed. What was with this Ruko guy? He always showed up out of nowhere at the wrong time . . . Just when he was getting information too. He held a hand over his kunai holster and slightly crouched, keeping an eye on each of the other two shinobi.

Instead of immediately attacking, Ruko turned so he faced away from the two genin; however, Naruto didn't fall for the ploy and kept his guard up. "You. What did you do to that examiner, Yugito?" He glared at the back of the cloak when Ruko chuckled.

"You must be the blond genin . . . the one my chuunin informed me of . . . By the way . . . I believe that . . . yesterday, you seemed to have . . . _forgotten_ . . . to tell me about him, Shimaru?" Ruko turned slightly back, so that one of his hardened eyes could be seen staring coldly at the genin.

Shimaru drew in his breath, but remained silent.

"And now here you are . . . about to tell your little . . . _friend_ . . . all of my plans . . . You aren't _betraying_ me, . . . are you?"

At the same time as Shimaru replied, "No, Ruko-sama," Naruto burst out, "Hey you! Don't ignore me! Answer my question!"

Ruko mocked him by chuckling again. "My, . . . it seems as if . . . you've grown a bit of courage . . . since we last met . . ." His tone suddenly shifted, from drawling to authoritative. "Shimaru, you will be punished for your constant forgetfulness later. For now, kill this annoying pest."

Without warning, Shimaru lunged at the genin he had been addressing just moments earlier, his specialized kunai in hand. Already anticipating this, Naruto immediately drew his own kunai and blocked him. Common sense urged him to escape from the stand's interior into the crowds of people, but he had never been one to be driven by rationality. As the two genin whipped their kunai back, he aimed a punch at Shimaru, who evaded at the last minute.

"What's up with you?" Naruto shouted as they fought. "Why do you listen to him!? You know what he's doing is wrong!"

Shimaru couldn't answer his questions. How could he, with Ruko watching their every move? "Someone like you, living in such a delusional place like _Konoha_ doesn't have the right to question me," he said quietly, panting lightly. Sensing an opening, he brought his kunai up and managed to nick Naruto on his shoulder.

Naruto leaped back before any further damage could be done. The two genin stood and faced each other, waiting for the other to let his guard down. "Delusional? The only place that's _delusional_ is this village! Everyday, pretending everything's perfect when people are dying or disappearing!" He brought his hands up to make a seal. "Kage Bu-" An explosion was heard far above the stand. Out of nowhere, a hand appeared and stopped him. He looked sideways to see its owner. "Senshu! What are you doing here?"

"I was just taking a stroll, drifting off . . ." the older genin murmured warily yet lazily at the same time. He turned to the other two in the stand. "One of my teammates has most likely already alerted our jounin of our location," he stated somewhat casually, as if unintimidated by them. "I also just let off a firework which I tweaked. Your name has just been lit in the sky above this stand. If we die here, the whole village will know you were here." He nodded to Naruto. "Let's go." Hurriedly, he let the way out.

Naruto switched his gaze between Shimaru and Ruko. He was reluctant to drop the fight, but followed after Senshu, who was waiting for him outside. Naruto realized the streets were deserted, even though it was still daylight.

"Hurry. We have to get back to the hotel," Senshu urged and began to sprint.

Naruto followed after him. "But won't Kakashi-sensei and Gai come looking for us? You said someone-"

"Look, I was bluffing. I came here alone," Senshu replied.

"What? It didn't look like it! So the firework and everything . . ." Naruto trailed.

"All a bluff. There's no way I'd understand mechanics of explosives that well. I just threw a few exploding tags together . . . They'll probably realize it soon, which is why we'll have to hurry it up. Ask questions when we're safe."

As Senshu predicted, Ruko intercepted them shortly afterwards, followed by Shimaru, who blocked the way back. "I was wondering . . ." Ruko mused, "why would you runaway . . . when your jounin and this village's shinobi are going to save you?"

"Naruto, we're going to have to cause as much of a ruckus as possible," Senshu pulled out a fistful of explosive tags.

The blond retrieved his own. He looked towards Senshu, who nodded, and they both sprinted up the sides of opposite buildings, littering the area below, where Ruko stood, with tags that detonated as soon as they hit the ground. The two genin met up and began to leave, when they found themselves surrounded by a dozen Ruko's.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Soon, an equal amount of Narutos appeared and aimed punches and kicks at their adversary. Much to the clones' surprise, however, all the Rukos phased away momentarily, causing them to slip through. "Bunshin?" Naruto wondered aloud. His question was answered when the Rukos solidified and attacked him. "What the heck?" he shouted when all the shadow clones dispersed.

"Let me try," Senshu said. "Hite no jutsu." (Fire Hand Technique). His hands erupted into two short tentacles of flames, which he aimed at one of the Rukos. His right hand passed through, just like Naruto's. The Ruko solidified, causing his hand to remain fastened in the chest, trapped as the doppleganger prepared to plunge a kunai into him.

"Rasengan!" An orb of chakra suddenly hit the solidified clone from behind, causing it to vanish, instead of explode. The two genin surveyed the remaining eleven clones. The real Ruko stood below them on the street. "It looks like we'll have to work together on this," Naruto observed.

They prepared to move when the clones suddenly dispersed. Confused, they looked down to see that Ruko and Shimaru had disappeared.

"Hey you!" a voice called.

They turned and saw a stampede of Kumo shinobi heading towards them. The one at their fore, a jounin most likely, was yelling at them. "What do you troublemakers think you're doing? You're disturbing the peace in the area!"

"What?" Naruto retorted in disbelief. "Didn't you see-"

Senshu cut him off. "I was helping him count how many tags he had left, and they sort of . . . slipped." He yawned.

"That is the lamest excuse I've ever heard! We're taking you genin to your representatives right now! And don't try anything else!" he stormed off ahead of them. The others who had arrived, seeing there was no attack and therefore no need for their presence, left.

"Why didn't you tell him the truth?" Naruto whispered as they followed the jounin.

Senshu sighed. "Remember what Shikamaru said? Besides, we have no evidence. No one would have believed a couple of foreign genin."

As they headed back toward the hotel, Naruto couldn't help but feel the disappointment – another battle not concluded. Then he remembered something. Why hadn't Shimaru told Ruko about what he said to Kohito? And what exactly did it mean?

When they finally arrived at the hotel and met up with Kakashi, the jounin immediately proceeded to rave and rant about the "lack of control" he had over his genin and everything else stored up in his chest.

Kakashi sweatdropped. "Er, right. You can sent the bill to Konoha. Meanwhile, I'll make sure to deal with these two."

"You better!" the jounin scoffed and stormed away.

"Well, wasn't he a grouch?" Kakashi stated pleasantly. Becoming a little more serious, he turned to the genin, "What happened?" He listened as they told him the previous hour's events. "Shikamaru told me about this earlier. I won't scold you for what you did Naruto. As your sensei, I know how you must be feeling with these events occurring. But I will tell you this: Sometimes, it's better to think things through instead of just acting on your impulses. If you don't learn this, you may never become a chuunin." He turned to leave. "Remember, training first thing tomorrow."

* * *

'_What have I been doing all this time?' _A fist of crackling electricity pummeled at a boulder, reducing it to dust. '_At this rate, I'm never going to defeat him. Damn it! Why am I so weak? Even Naruto managed to bat me . . .'_ Sasuke paused in his devastation and stared into his palms. '_I have to get stronger!'_

He was utterly humiliated. Easily defeated in the second round, his best attack thrown right back at him . . . Even dead-last Naruto had advanced. But Sasuke, Sasuke seemed to remain exactly where he was, standing on a plateau while everyone else ascended, gaining more power.

He desperately wanted, _needed _more power. He had to have it. Full of fury, he tuned to another boulder and rapidly punched into it.

* * *

"Alright, Sukai, try and use your byakugan." The genin nodded and activated her ability. "What do you see?"

She concentrated. "Masses of chakra where everything is. Ninety degrees to the front, and about ninety more on either side behind me, just like always."

Kafun frowned. "You can't see anything else?"

"Like what?" she asked curiously.

"Never mind. Your byakugan is underdeveloped because you didn't inherit it directly. But it seems that you can use the same technique as Konoha's Hyuuga clan, the one that redirects chakra. The problem is that you can't see where you're hitting. . . You're incredibly lucky you made it into the finals."

Sukai nodded solemnly, knowing that she'd never have been able to defeat the green genin if she hadn't done whatever it was she'd done. She observed as her sensei pulled out scrolls from his flak jacket.

"These contain images of chakra coils. I want you to memorize their locations relative to the bodies. Although every person's coils differ a bit, generally, they run along the same areas. If you can memorize this, and learn to push your chakra into an opponent's body, I think that's the first step to imitating the jyuuken."

* * *

Naruto eagerly crammed a quick breakfast of rice and pickled vegetables into his mouth. No matter what went wrong, the prospect of learning a new move or training always excited him. Thus, for the time being, he pushed all thoughts and distractions aside. It was time to meet up with Kakashi-sensei and train for the final rounds!

After wolfing the rest of his bowl's contents, he hurried to the lobby where, surprisingly, his sensei was waiting. Kakashi'd eye crinkled in mirth. "Ready?" At Naruto's nod, the duo left the building and made their way to the outskirts of the village. Kakashi motioned them to stop when they reached a flat clearing with a small creek running through.

"Hey, Kakahi-sensei, so what are you going to be teaching me? Chidori?" Naruto asked eagerly.

The jounin laughed at his pupil's excitement. "No. I think your rasengan is more than enough to penetrate Gaara's shields. We're going to work on boosting your speed. That way, you'll be able to keep up with his sand."

Naruto frowned. "What?" he whined. "But that's _boring_! I want to learn something _cool_."

"Well, I didn't say that's all you'd be doing. You're going to be learning a new jutsu as well."

"Yes! Which one?"

"Not so fast. First, we're going to work on your speed. Some basic taijutsu forms wouldn't hurt either. I'll leave you to practice the jutsu by yourself once Gai and I leave," Kakashi explained. "We haven't been give much time to train, so I'm afraid we're going to have to cram everything together."

Naruto sulked. "It's not fair! Man. It's like they're trying to get this over with as fast as possible!"

'_He might be on to something, even if he doesn't realize it,'_ Kakashi thought. '_Meanwhile, Pakkun hasn't come back . . .' _He set aside his thoughts and brought out a bag of weights. "Put these on, Naruto. Try getting used to them – exercise, run laps, you know the drills. Lee has agreed to let you train with them while he recovers."

"Huh? Recovers? What do you mean?" Naruto queried.

"He was accidently hit with an uncontrolled jyuuken. The chakra coils around his lungs are giving him a bit of respiratory difficulties – nothing serious. But he's just going to need some more time before he's at a full one hundred percent again. Meanwhile, he's been more than glad to let you use his weights while he does light exercises without them. Something about aiding you on your journey to youthfulness?"

"Hm. Lee's weights huh?" Naruto leaned down and picked up a roll of weights . . . or attempted to. "Argh! I can't even lift these! This is crazy!"

Kakashi sweatdropped. "Uh, I didn't mean for you to put them all on at once. You can strain yourself, you know."

"Eh? Right," Naruto muttered. And so, day one of training began.

* * *

Shimaru let out a gasp as he hit the untiled floor. Panting, he struggled to push himself up, only to find himself hurled backwards again as a foot connect with his ribs.

The owner of the foot, Ruko, spoke to him menacingly. "Remember your place. I trained you to be my _loyal_ protégé and nothing more. If I find out you're doing _anything_ behind my back again, I will _personally_ dispatch of you." In the dark room, footsteps could be heard as Ruko made his leave.

The genin remained with his limbs askew as he tried not to wince. '_This is bad. For some reason, everything's progressing faster than I thought it would.' _His mind – the only part of his body that still functioned without pain- clicked rapidly. '_I have to get this information to someone quickly, but Ruko is going to have me spied on even more now.'_

Flapping sandals resounded as a new person entered. "Well, lookie here," a male voice stated casually, "Ruko's favorite pet got in trouble yet _again."_ A pair of hands heaved him up roughly, unconcerned that it caused the boy more pain. "What was it this time?" He began to heal im.

Shimaru glared at the person despite the fact that it was pitch black. "None of your business," he grunted. He grabbed the hands that were over his rib cage and pushed them away. "Leave me alone."

The person besides him shifted. "You sure?" he said smugly. "I mean, if I were you, cracked and bruised, I'd accept all the help I could get."

"I-don't-need-your-help," he forced through gritted teeth. As if to prove this, he used the wall as a leverage to pull himself up and began to slowly edge away from the healer. He heard him rise from behind, and out of nowhere, a fist flew into his skull. Before he could fly forward in shock, however, a hand roughly grabbed his collar. The last thing he heard before he blacked out was the same annoying voice muttering, "Sure you don't."

* * *

Gaara sat on a rooftop. Most likely, everyone else was deep into their training, but he continued to sedately stare into nothing.

"Gaaaaaraaaaaaaa!" He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Ever since she'd learned he was in the finals–the _only _Suna nin in the finals – Fuu had been constantly bothering him, trying to make him learn a prank she would have used had she advanced.

"No," he asserted in monotone, despite the fact that she had not yet said anything.

Her ponytail bobbed as she stamped her feet in a half-tantrum and frustration. "Come oooon! You haven't even _heard_ what it is yet!"

"Hn," he grunted.

"Does that mean 'yes' you'll do it?" she asked hopefully.

"No."

"Come on, it'll be great! Use it and you're _guaranteed_ to beat Uzumaki!"

"I can beat him just fine."

"No you can't!" she scoffed. "From what I heard, he whooped you so good in the last exams-"

"Hn."

"You're in denial," she retorted. "Anyway, I'm not going to leave you alone until you hear me out!"

"So you'll leave once I listen?"

". . . Maybe," she answered ambiguously.

"Let me rephrase it: 'You _will_ leave once I listen or be squished.' Better?" he stared at her without blinking.

She laughed nervously. "Er, right. You know, for someone as scary as you, 'squish' is kind of a childish word huh?" she changed the subject when he glared. "Aaaanyway, I'd make you use my boomerangs too if that stupid Uchiha hadn't pulverized them with that lightning move of his! Man, if I run into him again, I'll-"

"Fuu . . ." he threatened.

"What? Oh, I'm rambling again, huh?" she realized. "Anyway, what I was going to show you . . ."

Gaara sighed and listened begrudgingly as she continued to jabber and jabber.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, really short chapter, I know. It's only a little over 2800 or so words since I cut a lot of stuff out. I just wanted to get another one out before I take a break and start reading the last Harry Potter book. I'll probably be skipping straight to the finals next chapter. Anyway, please focus your attention on the lower left hand corner of your screen – you know, the one with that has a review button and 'go'? Yeah, you know what I mean! Please review:D 


	8. Decisions

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto whatsoever, except for my fictions.

"Speaking"

'_Thinking_'

**Demon talking**

_Flashback_

ooooooooo

_Bloodlines and Demons_

by chairomori

Chapter Eight: Decisions

ooooooooo

"Raikage-sama!" A jounin burst into a luxurious office. The sudden noise disrupted the serenity created by the soft, cream-colored drapes and opaque lamps that bedecked the room.

A middle-aged man glanced up from a file he had been examining. His thinning blond-gray hair hung limply past his shoulders, complementing the tired look on his face. Wrinkles around his eyes and mouth marred what otherwise could have been a youthful face. Old battle scars could be seen tracing this throat, chin, and forehead. His dull, green eyes, which had lost their former vitality frowned at the jounin. "Couldn't you have knocked, at least?"

The jounin bowed low. "I apologize, Raikage-sama," he panted. "Another civilian was found dead this morning. Judging by the state the corpse was in, it must have been done at _least_ a while ago. Please, Raikage-sama, as a jounin of this village, I ask that you put a stop-"

The Raikage held up a hand, silencing him. "Did you identify the body?" He asked wearily.

"Yes. It belongs to the popular ramen chef – the one who runs Icha Icha Ramen Paradise."

Alertness suddenly overtook him, but he didn't display any change in demeanor. "Is that all?"

"Yugito is still missing. We can't find her anywhere, but," the jounin burst in frustration, "Raikage-sama, I know Ruko-sama is behind this. I know it probably seems far-fetched to you, but I can explain!"

Silence filled the room for a moment before the Raikage penetrated it. "How long have you known?"

The jounin let out a short gasp. "Are you saying, do you mean to say that you _knew_? You _knew_ and didn't do a _thing_ while our people were_ murdered_? How could you?"

"Enough," the Raikage interrupted him. He sighed. "My brother has gathered many followers. How could I just blindly thrust our loyal shinobi into battle? I wanted our village to remain in peace, to prosper. A few lives seemed to be little payment for peace. It was – _is_ – my mistake. A foolish one. I allowed him to scheme and plan, thinking I'd be able to stop him when 'the right time arrived.' Now our jinchuuriki is gone. There is no doubt that is also my mistake. Yugito is brash and hardheaded. I didn't trust her to keep this ordeal secret, so I pretended to ignore her. I should have known the child wouldn't have let it rest." He sighed again. "I'm not cut out for this position . . . If only the former Raikage could have lived a bit longer."

"Raikage-sama, I don't mean to be rude, but this is no time for regrets. Are you going to do anything or not?"

The Raikage's eyes flashed. He closed the file he had been viewing and rose. "I had been waiting for the chuunin exams to finish before acting, but it seems Ruko has no intention of doing so. Whatever he's planning, it's going to happen soon." He walked around his desk towards the jounin. "Give the signal to inform all the shinobi of the village that there will be a meeting tonight. You're dismissed."

The jounin bowed and left. '_Ruko-sama was right. He'll be please to hear this turn of events . . .'_

ooooooooo

Tsunade leaned her head in her palm and held a steaming cup of jasmine tea in front of her, lazily sipping it. She stared at Kakashi and Gai. "And your point is . . .?"

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune reprimanded.

"What?" Tsunade frowned in irritation. "Do you really think they'd try anything in the middle of such an event?"

"In the last exams, one of our shinobi, Hayate, was killed by a jounin from Suna."

"Okay, so what does that mean? We'll be able to swoop in and get rid of this Hyuuga-clone or whatever, then get away scot-free?" she asked sarcastically. "Listen. The only thing that concerns us here is the Hyuuga. Unless it can be used to our advantage, anything else happening in the Cloud is useless to us. For now, we'll just bide out time and watch."

ooooooooo

Sukai stifled an irritates sigh as she accidently released her byakugan again. Outside of regular training with Kafun-sensei, she had been trying to keep her byakugan on as long as possible. Currently, using the inheritance costed too much chakra and effort, thus her decision to accustom herself to it.

Activating the byakugan, she continued to sprint down a street to get a bento for her lunch break. After turning a corner, she noticed a crouching Kumo near the borders of her vision. Curious, she headed in his direction without realizing that her advanced vision had deactivated itself again.

When she arrived, Sukai hid herself on a rooftop. Kumo was just completing a sequence of seals. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning crashed into the alley and he rushed in, following up the attack with a crackling fist of electricity.

"What is he doing?" Sukai whispered to herself. She shifted her position to gain a better view of who Kumo was engaging. Her eyes widened. "He's crazy." But she couldn't leave her teammate in the mess he'd created. She stepped out onto the edge of the rooftop and prepared to jump down when a chop behind her neck caused her to pass out.

ooooooooo

Naruto stood on the hotel's rooftop, eyes closed in concentration. Tied to his fingers were ten wires, each with a regular shuriken attached to it. The shuriken were strategically placed around him. '_Alright._' He concentrated on his chakra and pushed it into the strings. When the chakra reached the shuriken, they began to quiver and slowly rotate. He forced even more chakra into them, making sure to increase his output at a brisk and even pace. The shuriken began to spin faster and rise from the rooftop. A small aura of chakra could be seen emanating from them. Naruto felt light breezes edging towards him. A shiver of eagerness passed through his body, causing him to accidently feed a surplus of chakra into the wires. As if on cue, all the wires snapped at once, sending the shuriken flying haphazardly in all directions.

"Aw man!" His concentration broken, Naruto comically dodged the shuriken that had backfired on him. "Man, it was getting good too!" He knelt next to a random shuriken and gulped. It had buried itself so deep into the wall, only a single tip protruded. Scanning the rooftop, he realized dozens more littered the area due to his training. Groaning, he summoned an equal amount of Kage Bunshin to quicken the task of pulling them all out. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could continue his training.

ooooooooo

Raikou Haden observed the groups of shinobi situated around the meeting room. He sat facing them, with the symbol of his status, the yellow Raikage's hat before him. Murmuring voices rose and fell. Glancing at the many empty cushions littering the room, the most flagrant his son's, he stifled a sigh and slowly rose. Any chatter quickly ceased as the shinobi listened with rapt attention.

"My loyal shinobi," Haden began, "as you may very well see, quite a few of our comrades are not present, despite this being a mandatory meeting." As if to make a point, he swept his hands over the empty spaces. "Some are injured. Others have been captured. But most," he paused, as if in weariness, "most have betrayed us."

A few gasps and murmurs, mostly from genin, arose; however, many of the older shinobi showed no surprise. They had relished the moment when their leader would finally take action for far too long.

"Why have they betrayed us, and to whom have they turned to? Many of you already know the answer; however, I shall enlighten those of you who do not. I am genuinely sorry to say that for many years now, one of our very own esteemed jounin has been plotting to seize control of this village. For what purpose, I do not know. But this individual has been steadily gathering a group of followers and slaughtering those who may be obstacles to his plan. This individual is none other than Raikou Ruko." Haden waited a bit for the information to sink into the formerly ignorant, most of whom were genin and chuunin. "The two of us have been carefully testing each other, feigning ignorance and innocence in these cases to find any weaknesses that could be exploited. For some reason, however, Ruko has chosen to make a few bold moves. On of which was capturing our jinchuuriki." Haden paused briefly. '_And most likely, now, my son.'_

"This afternoon, I purposely chose a jounin I knew sided with Ruko, and told him to relay the signal for this meeting." Haden smile slightly as the said jounin suddenly started and began searching for an escape with his eyes. "The purposed of this was for Ruko to know that this _skirmish_ will no longer remain an underground one. As you may judge by the reduction of our numbers, Ruko has heard the message and answered. Our village is now divided into two factions: ours, the larger one and the one in control of Kumogakure, and Ruko's the rebelling faction."

"But Raikage-sama, what are we going to do?" The question came from a newly instated genin.

"An excellent question, young one," the Raikage answered. "The first order of business will be a house-cleaning, of course. That's the most logical thing to do." The genin became confused, but a few shinobi tensed. Haden smile grimly, and uttered a single word. "Initiate."

Without warning, about a score of shinobi attached a tag onto their neighbors. Screams rebounded off the walls when the tags began to activate an shock many of them. Many confused cries rang around the room, but the Raikage maintained a hardened, triumphant air about him.

Of the couple genin, and many chuunin and jounin, only a few jounin remained conscious after the unexpected attack. They forced themselves to rise and sprinted towards the doorway, only to find it suddenly blocked with masked shinobi. Realizing they were surrounded by loyalists, albeit mostly confused loyalists, they halted in their escape attempt and instead stood their ground. On particular jounin turned and confronted the Raikage, drawing out a kunai. "Since we've been caught, the least we can do is take you down with us." He lunged forward but was met with the katana of an anbu. The two face off, as did the other remaining traitors. Suddenly, a white bolt of lightning soundlessly struck each of them where they stood, rendering them unconscious. Eyes followed the jutsu back to Haden.

"Enough. Take them to interrogations. Make sure no one escapes," he ordered the anbu. Quickly, the anbu dispersed with the unconscious shinobi. Turning to the remaining shinobi who had begun to settle down, he joked bitterly. "Well, wasn't that an effective house-cleaning?"

A lazy chuunin, not unlike Shikamaru, spoke up. "Are you saying that all those shinobi were spies?"

"Precisely. After tipping off that jounin, I immediately gathered a few capable shinobi to carry out the task of incapacitating the spies. Although I feigned ignorance, I had already amassed a deluge of information."

The chuunin smirked slightly. '_Clever. By informing us of all the steps he's taken, not only is he assuring everyone he knows what he's doing, he's also displaying his intellect and power. In short, he's trying to prevent anyone else from betraying the village by insinuating that he knows every move everyone will make. It's the very same psychological strategy Ruko used to prevent shinobi from contacting the Raikage.'_

"But Raikage-sama, how will this affect the chuunin exams?" a weak voice asked. It was Kohito.

Haden gazed at the man. He was a coward in many senses, but he was a loyal coward. "Despite everything that has occurred, I hope to continue the exams as long as it is safe to do so. However, if continuance will endanger our shinobi or any or our visiting shinobi in anyway, we may be forced to cancel it in order to maintain healthy relations with the other villages."

"I don't understand," a venin voiced.

Instead of Haden, a jounin answered. "What he means is, if anything were to happen to the shinobi or lords of the other countries, we may or will be held responsible. In that sense, we have to tread carefully until these exams are over."

"Why not just end them now?" someone else inquired.

"We don't want to let on that anything's wrong," a different chuunin replied. "Blatantly cancelling such an important event is like waving a sign that announces we're having internal conflict. It would be like an invitation for aggressive countries to invade."

During this time, Haden had seated himself once more. He struggled to give the meeting his attention, but his thoughts continued to drift toward his concern for Kumo. Where was he?

ooooooooo

Kogane Yokou refrained from allowing any trace of irritation to make its way onto his face. He, along with his siblings, sat a bit behind his parents, quietly listening to the politics rebounding back and forth in the clan meeting room.

"I'm telling you, our loyalty lies with whoever is the fittest to lead this village," a voice added to the ongoing debate.

"And that person is the Raikage!" another added.

"You mean the man who abandoned his shinobi just to avoid confronting his brother?" a third voice scoffed.

"You know his reasons."

"Like hell I, nor anyone else here does. You saw what happened in that meeting room – Raikou doesn't trust us with shit!"

"Language," a serene voice interrupted.

"What I mean is, why should we risk our lives over this mess? How does it affect us?"

"What you are suggesting is treason," an elder warned sternly.

"Besides, you'd risk allowing Ruko the chance to seize control? Can you even imagine the subjugation we would all be forced to succumb to?"

"Then why not join him?" Yokou was startled out of whatever reverie he was in. His father continued. "Ruko has gotten away with who knows how many atrocities for this long. If Haden could have done something, it would have been done by now. It's obvious Ruko will come out of this on top."

Next to him, his wife was appalled. "You're suggesting we betray our village?"

"We aren't betraying our village. It's simply a matter of who we want to lead us," he justified. The new perspective raised even more questions and discussions, slowly adding to the cacophony that plagued the room.

At the room's head, a slightly rotund, middle-aged woman who had been scuffling about her seat for quite a while began to twitch irascibly. Her eyes, which had been closed, flashed open to reveal golden irises. She let out a low growl. "Quiet!" she called. But the command lost itself in the din. Her eyes began twitching and her fingers curled around a cold cup of green tea. "Quiet!!" she tried to yell above the racket. Again, almost no one heard her. Scoffing in contempt, she rose and hurled the cup out a window. "I said _QUIET!" _Shafts of refracted light suddenly materialized from nowhere and threateningly suspended themselves around every inhabitant of the room. A reverberating silence filled the room and a distant crash from the teacup could be heard.

The woman cleared her throat. "That's better." The shafts vanished as she reseated herself. "The direction our clan will take has been clear since the beginning. As one of the most prestigious clans in Kumogakure, it is our duty and blah blah blah, to protect this village and all else within it – that includes its leaders. As suggested earlier, to do anything else would be treason."

"But Yokohana-sama-"

"_Silence!_ As head of this clan, this is my order. Anyone who dares defy it will be prosecuted. There is nothing more to discuss here." Yokohana rose, grabbed an old walking stick, and began to amble out of the room, while muttering something about stupid traditions and dull meetings.

"Can you believe it, Yotsuko? Being forced to obey a decrepit, old fool!"

"There, there – nothing to be so upset about!" Yotsuko waved off her husband cheerily.

He grunted in annoyance and headed off without her.

"Kaa-san?" she turned and face Yokou. "Is Yokohana-sama going to be able to protect herself? She's crippled, and it seems that many are upset with her decision."

She smiled an leaned toward him so that no one else could hear. "Don't worry. Yokohana-sama is clan head because of more than just her inheritance. And besides, sometimes there's more to a person than meets the eye – just look at what she did moments ago." She turned and waved him off as she did to her husband. "I know you have something to do, so take care!" she called airily behind her. "Remember to watch your back!"

Yokou stared at his mother's retreating form, wondering how she always managed to know what was going to happen. Mother's intuition, he decided. With her obscure form of permission, he turned in the opposite direction and began to search for his missing teammates.

ooooooooo

Naruto laid on his back, still on the hotel rooftop. Exhausted, he simply wanted to rest, but he only had a few more days before the final exams and had yet to master the jutsu Kakashi designed for him. Hearing the door to the rooftop open then slam shut, he reluctantly pushed himself up.

"Still training? How troublesome." Shikamaru walked over to him and sprawled himself on the rooftop, staring at the overcast sky. "I'm glad I already passed – now I won't be forced to keep taking these annoying exams over and over again."

"Tch. Lazy ass," Naruto muttered, flopping down again. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Just trying to look at the clouds. Of course, it'd be easier if this country's weather wasn't always so gloomy," he answered.

"It's night, Shikamaru," the blond deadpanned. "You're not supposed to see anything either way."

The chuunin sighed. "I take it you haven't been having anymore unwanted run-ins?"

"Nope. Just me and the roof – and a bunch of training."

"Naruto, don't feel so let down. You know whatever's happening is none of our business."

"Mm hm," Naruto agreed stiffly.

Shikamaru took it as a signal of acceptance and left the whiskered genin to his own devices.

Naruto waited until he heard the door click, then sighed. How was he supposed to pretend that nothing was wrong? Just that evening, for some reason much of the village had fallen silent, as if everyone had disappeared. Even in his training he could sense the abnormalcy. Now there seemed to be an air of solemness about the area. He took a breath and forced himself onto his feet. Whatever it was, thinking about it wouldn't do anything. Swiftly, he attached a handful of wires to more shuriken and resumed his training.

ooooooooo

"Sukai!" The clone whined and tried to turn over. "Sukai!" She frowned and swatted whatever it was that kept shaking her. "_Sukai!_"

"What?" she bolted up and demanded. Fully conscious, she took in her surroundings – a dimly lit room with two other occupants. "Where are we?"

The first of the two occupants shrugged. "I hate to sound stereotypical, but some kind of villainous, evil lair."

The second of the two scoffed. "What gave it away? The eerily dim lighting, or the fact that we're trapped between four walls?"

"Look, Sukai. He's _talking_ to us. Besides, _Shimaru_," the first sneered, "you're Ruko's favorite lackey, you should know where we are. Oh, and it's four walls, _a ceiling_ and _the floor_."

"As you so intelligently put it, we're in one of Ruko's 'villainous, evil lairs,' _Honorable Prince_," Shimaru jabbed.

Kumo snapped at the title. "No one calls me that anymore – thank the gods. And if you insist on being so formal, you shouldn't insult me."

"I said you spoke 'intelligently.' If you choose to take everything as an insult – not my problem," the navy-haired genin shrugged nonchalantly.

"Um," Sukai sweatdropped. "So what exactly do you mean by we're in Ruko's 'villainous, evil lair'?"

Kumo sighed. "Exactly what I meant. I caught a jounin passing information onto Ruko and foolishly lost my head," he glared at Shimaru when the genin acknowledged the 'foolishly' part. "Without thinking – stop agreeing with me you bastard! – I attacked them. Apparently, you stink as stealth – I mean, no offense Sukai, and I told you to stop Shimaru! – so you were caught and obviously I got taken down."

"And then both of you were thrown in here with me," Shimaru summed up for them.

"But why are _you_ here?" Sukai asked. "And where's your mask?" She suddenly noticed the small scars that now revealed themselves, particularly the one that ran from his left chin up to the side of his nose.

"The annoying medic who runs this base threw me in here. He's also the one who stole my mask," Shimaru frowned. Indeed, the prat had made off with it, sprouting nonsense about how 'one shouldn't be ashamed of one's appearances.' He felt self-conscious without it covering him. It was as if he were standing naked in front of everyone.

"That's what I don't get," Kumo stated. "Why would Ruko's favorite lackey end up here?"

Shimaru gave a frustrated sigh. "Why do you keep insisting I'm his _favorite lackey_?"

Kumo scoffed. "Oh, come on! You can't possibly be saying you _aren't_."

"For your information, Ruko doesn't _have_ a 'favorite lackey.' He doesn't trust anyone enough, let alone a genin like _me_," Shimaru defended.

"Oh _no_. You're not his favorite? The world is going to end! Besides, you come close enough to one," he insisted.

"How so?"

Kumo began listing things off. "One, he personally called you his protégé. Two, you do every damn thing he says."

"And that's enough to make you think I'm his 'favorite'?" Shimaru waited for Kumo's nod of confirmation, which he immediately received. "To straighten things out, a 'protégé' is someone who'd under an influential person. I didn't know that meant 'favorite lackey' in your dictionary. And between the three of us, I really don't want to add to my collection of scars."

"Tch. Whatever, _coward_. Just go on killing innocent people like Toya for the sake of your own life."

"I see you've been taking lessons from that dumb, blond genin from Konoha," Shimaru muttered. "Anyway, are you saying that if you were to have the choice between killing her," he pointed at Sukai, "or having yourself be killed, you'd pick the latter?"

"Of course not," Kumo fired at him. "This is just like in the exams. I'd pick neither. Although I know what _you'd_ have done."

"Wake up. We're shinobi – killing is just part of what we do. We didn't become ninja to help old ladies carry their bags across the street. We did it to fight and the ultimate result of fighting is killing."

"That's your own twisted logic. I admit there _are_ times when it'll be necessary to take a life – I'm personally waiting for Ruko to go down – but that doesn't mean killing's what it revolves around."

"I beg to differ. Things tend to be different when you've been forced under a man like Ruko," Shimaru retorted.

"The only person who's forcing you to follow him is _you_."

"Oh, and I'm sure your father, the Raikage, had nothing to do with assigning me under him," Shimaru said sarcastically.

"Don't you dare bring him into _your_ issues," Kumo warned.

"Or what? After all the time I've been under Ruko, the Raikage has yet to act against him _once_. Not even after all of the information he's gotten. Who's the coward now?"

"That's it. I'm sick of you," Kumo gritted. "Hekireki genkotsu." (Lightning Fist). The dim room suddenly became illuminated from the jutsu. He charged at Shimaru who was suddenly on defense.

"Um, I _hate_ to interrupt," an intermediate grabbed hold of Kumo's wrist, dispelled the technique, and let go, "I mean, this _is_ like a soap opera and all, but I don't really want you to kill each other."

Shimaru glare at the familiar annoyance.

"Aw, come on, Shimaru," the medic grinned. "After I healed you and all? Anyway, I was just here to check up on my new prisoners when I heard your interesting comments! You know, Shimaru, I should update you on the facts. The Raikage has now technically declared war on Ruko!"

"What?" the three genin asked. Sukai, who had been spectating intently as the boys lashed out at each other rose and stood with the rest of them.

"I said that Raikage-sama has declared war on Ruko," the medic stated nonchalantly. "Oh, by the way, Shimaru, that list you gave Raikage-sama is a bit faulty. Sure he got a lot of conspirators in that meeting, but a couple got away scot-free. Namely Hannya and-"

"What do you mean, 'meeting'?" Kumo demanded.

"Are you deaf? I mean, 'meeting.' You know, as in an assembly, a get together, an-"

"Okay, just get to it," he impatiently ordered.

"Well, as I was saying, Raikage-sama managed to bag quite a few spies Ruko left behind. But you did miss a few big people, Shimaru. Now Ruko's called everyone who's not to remain as spies back into our bases to plan the next move. I heard we may target some of the shinobi during the exams."

"Wait, why do you assume it's me who gave this list? Anyone else may have done it," Shimaru tensed.

"Silly, silly. Didn't I tell you earlier you stink at this game? Don't worry though, secret's safe with me," he said all too cheerily for the situation. "Anyway, I think I've been talking way too much. Better to lock the door back up!" He turned his back on the genin who were mostly a bit dumbstruck by their captor. Once outside the door, he paused. "How careless of me! I accidently broke the lock in my rush to get in! Well, I'll just have to get another. How unfortunate. I just sent all the guards in this base to take a break too!" He addressed the genin. "I'm sure you won't go anywhere while I go fetch another lock? Who am I kidding? Of course you won't! You won't try and get your kunai and equipment pouches in the cupboard to the left of your cell either, I trust! Well, it'll take me about ten minutes or so to go to the supply room and back, so just sit tight, okay? You'll be locked up again in no time!" He turned around and reiterated in a more serious tone. "Ten minutes, that's all."

The genin waited until the queer medic had turned the corner before scrambling out of the cell and quickly retrieving their equipment.

Kumo turned to Shimaru. "What are you doing? Aren't you with Ruko?"

"You heard that guy – lines have finally been drawn, the Raikage's finally moving. I don't have to be here anymore."

"Whatever. We'll settle this once we're out of here. You lead us since you know this place better than we do. Sukai, try and use your byakugan as a look out."

The illegitimate Hyuuga nodded and activated the bloodline, hoping it wouldn't deactivate itself again. She turned around in a circle to compensate for its shortcomings. "No one's around." With that, the trio scrambled their way out of the base.

Five minutes later, a pair of voices could be heard coming down the hallway.

"Really, it seems like you don't trust me with my job," the polite voice from before stated. "You should go back to sleep. I'm sure it was nothing."

"Like hell," a deep voice grunted. "I know I heard something from around here."

"Surely you don't expect me to be able to keep the prisoners from talking?" the former replied dryly.

"No. I mean, kind of like footsteps." As the two rounded the corner, the man halted, seeing the door ajar. "I knew it. They must have gotten through the lock somehow! Don't worry, I'll alert the others!" He rushed back down the hallway.

Behind him the medic sighed. _'It seems you might have a bit of trouble after all.'_

Meanwhile, the trio of genin had managed to make their way outside thanks to a few successful shortcuts and the lack of security. Once outside, Kumo and Sukai realized that the 'base' was actually disguised as an apartment complex in the village.

"Where do we go now?" Sukai asked while they leapt away bey rooftop.

"To my place," Kumo answered. "We need to avoid everyone – we don't know who's on which side yet. And before you talk, Shimaru, I don't trust your information. From what that guy said, it's flawed."

Suddenly, Sukai stopped for a second, catching a flash of something behind them. She maneuvered her body so that she could see directly behind them. "Kumo, we're being followed!"

"We're open targets up here, let's jump down," he ordered. "Sukai, set up a snare in the opposite alleyway. We'll head out on the open street while they might take a false lead."

She nodded and followed the two other genin down a wall. Quickly running through a few seals, she muttered, "Raisuji no jutsu." (Lightning Strings Technique). From her fingertips emerged her chakra which crackled soundlessly in thin wires. She quickly thrust them forward, causing them to attach to the alley's entrance like a spider web. Once it was settled, the trio headed on.

After a while, Kumo signalled for them to duck into another alleyway. "How many are there?"

"Six, I think. My byakugan's range isn't far enough to be certain."

"Make another decoy, then we'll keep going."

"We should head off in the direction of the decoy," Shimaru suggested. "If they recognized the first, they might think we'll try it again and ignore it."

With that settled, they dashed off again, only, "They're still onto us, an dclosing in – they must have a tracker or something." Sukai informed.

Kumo cursed. "I don't suppose anyone here knows any genjutsu?" Negative confirmations greeted him. "Well, I guess we're going to have to face them then."

"You two use that trash bin as a shield. I'm going to try a paralysis jutsu," Shimaru said. The two nodded and continued on to the bin while Shimaru skidded to a stop and began the necessary handseals for his Hekireki zenshinfuzui no jutsu, which he immediately activated as soon as the first trackers appeared. He managed to paralyze the first two with the hazy, enlarging bubble; however, the others leaped away in time to avoid the full effects of the jutsu.

"Shimaru, what are you doing, helping the prisoners escape?" One of them yelled before launching into an attack.

As Shimaru distracted their followers, Kumo whispered to Sukai, "How many are there?"

"Four. Six including the ones he's taken down," she answered. "Should we try and surprise them with combination two?"

"Yeah, that'd probably be best," he acquiesced.

"So what's combination two?" a female voice perked.

The two genin froze and looked behind them, where two more chuunin stood. Quickly, the two leapt away before they could be attacked. Sukai prepared her Raisuji no jutsu and tried to snare the chuunin's legs; however, they anticipated it and dodged by jumping. Trying to take advantage of their situation, Kumo ran through a lengthy sequence of seals, and soon, a fairly large bolt of lightning headed towards the chuunin. At the last second, they twisted in midair, causing the bolt to blast past them into the atmosphere. Once they landed, they propelled themselves forward to engage the genin in a taijutsu battle.

'_Now's my chance,'_ Sukai thought once she realized what the chuunin were planning. Being unable to see neither tenketsu nor chakra pathways, she stood her ground and scrutinized their approaching bodies and attempted to estimate their locations. Once they were close enough, she channeled as much chakra as she could into her palms and tried to force a hit. The two managed to avoid a vital blow but suffered injuries to their left and right shoulders.

The female chuunin clenched her right shoulder. "So you've finally learned a bit of the Gentle Fist style you were created for, eh?" She neatly back flipped to dodge a lightning fist from Kumo, who had attempted a sneak attack.

'_What?'_ Sukai blinked. The other chuunin, sensing and opening, threw a right hook at her which sent the genin flying back toward Shimaru, who still had three shinobi facing him.

Kumo landed next to them. "It's three genin of five chuunin. Plus, we're surrounded. What do you suppose we do?"

Before anyone could answer, hordes of glass shards began pouring down on the chuunin. They quickly evaded before any permanent damage could be dealt. As they dodged, the shards collected into larger, cracked fragments and reflected different images back at them.

"Up here," a voice called out. The trio glanced upwards and found their final teammate on the roof of a building. "Hurry. It's only a matter of time before they break the genjutsu." The three genin quickly climbed up to the rooftop.

"Yokou, how did you manage to find us?" Kumo questioned as they hurried onward.

"Anyone with eyes would have seen that bolt of lightning," the Kogane replied cooly. "I was looking for you and Sukai nearby and there just happened to be your signature move. Thought I'd head over. Other shinobi are probably going to check it out as we speak. By the way, what's he doing here?" he gestured at Shimaru.

A handful of kunai soon whizzed past them. "We should probably explain later," Kumo answered. "Sukai, why didn't you warn us they were following again?"

"Sorry. It's just that I'd been practicing with they byakugan all day, and it's so strained it keeps deactivating itself. I didn't see them," she explained.

"It doesn't matter," Yokou assured. "Just carry out combination three."

Sukai nodded and began throwing steal wires everywhere randomly as they ran, making sure they all connected. Meanwhile, Kumo prepared another lightning attack. Shimaru resigned himself to observing their teamwork. Once he had completed his seals, Kumo took the wires from Sukai. Instead of heading straight, the bolt began to travel along the wires behind them. In a few moments, the sound of electrocutions could be heard, accompanied by shrieks.

"I think it's safe to say we won't be followed anymore," Kumo smirked.

ooooooooo

A/N: Alright, so here's that next chapter I promised. I'm sorry to say that it's only half as long as I originally planned. The reason is I just don't have the time nor inspiration to sit down and write, what with trying to finish up _Flamed_ and my Spanish homework. Anyway, I know it's ridiculous to a lot of you out there, but this is most probably my last chapter until the next school year ends. Sorry, but please understand school is my number one priority – it's what's preparing me for life, not fanfiction. Well, for those of you who are patient, I'll see you in ten or so months. Not that many of you won't, but don't forget to leave a review! This has been chairo, ready to disembark from vacationing in the lands of _BaD_.


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